Museo de la Real Colegiata de San Isidoro

About the museum

The origin of the complex dates to around the year 956, when King Sancho I founded a monastery on this site, to which his sister Elvira Ramírez moved with her community. The Infantado de León, an institution through which the infantas administered monasteries and territories, was born here. In 1063 Fernando I and Sancha, who had established their palace here, had the relics of Saint Isidore brought from Seville, and the church changed its dedication. In 1148 the Augustinian canons regular were installed, and in 1188 the plenary court (curia plena) of Alfonso IX was held in the cloister, which UNESCO recognizes as the cradle of European parliamentarism.

The museum occupies the historic spaces of the former monastery and the royal palace. Visitors pass through two rooms of the medieval palace of the kings of León, a defensive tower built against the Roman wall, the monastic quarters and the Royal Pantheon, where 33 kings, queens, infantes (princes) and nobles were buried between the 11th and 13th centuries. Its mural paintings, with scenes from the life of Jesus and an agricultural calendar, have earned it the nickname “the Sistine Chapel of Romanesque art”.

The collections include goldsmith's work, ivories and medieval enamels, among them the Chalice of Doña Urraca, and an outstanding collection of textiles, with the Pendón de Baeza, considered the oldest military standard in Spain, and the funerary furnishings of the infanta Doña María.

Highlights

• Royal Pantheon with Romanesque mural paintings
• Chalice of Doña Urraca
• Reliquary chest of Saint Isidore and ivory casket
• Pendón de Baeza and funerary furnishings of the infanta Doña María
• Chamber of Doña Sancha and defensive tower of the palace
• Cloister, cradle of parliamentarism

Permanent exhibitions

• Panteón Real – Former church porch and burial place of the royal family, with one of the best-preserved sets of Romanesque painting in its original location.
• El Tesoro – Goldsmith's work, ivory and enamel, such as the Chalice of Doña Urraca, the reliquary chest of Saint Isidore and a Scandinavian idol.
• El Palacio y la torre defensiva – Two rooms of the 11th-century royal palace, including the Chamber of Doña Sancha with 16th-century mural paintings, and the tower built against the Roman wall.

Operated by

Cabildo de la Real Colegiata de San Isidoro

Admission & discounts

All visits include the Royal Pantheon. The Amigos de San Isidoro card costs €12 a year and includes admission to individual and guided visits and a 5% discount in the shop.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Theatrical family visit in which the girl Urraca, her father Alfonso VI and her nurse (aya) walk through the palace rooms.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop with books, children's items, games, stationery and gifts.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The Sala del Pendón (former refectory) and the open-air processional cloister are available for hire, with capacity for 400 people; enquiries at reservas@museosanisidoro.com.

Plan your visit