A final farewell to my castle...

Just before we left the Parador, we decided to take a quick self-guided tour through the Palace of the Knight Commanders attached to the castle.  The chapel was built between 1179 and 1200 and is used today for lectures and performances.

one of my lieges...sworn to render feudal allegiance

Gothic mural paintings from the 1200s

wall paintings in the chapel

the remains of the chapel

all the windows are alabaster...beautiful !

The cloister dates from the 1300s...

view to the outside from the cloister area

lovely Gothic arches

the keys to the cloister doorway...you won't lose these !

The various wall paintings are amazing...they are done in a style called "fresco-secco" using tempera rather than pure fresco technique.  The colors are so vivid...even after all these years !

you can barely make out the image here...see below...

the Archangel Michael

Beauty and the Beast !

The paintings on the arches continue to the ceiling...some depict a primitive calender...

The Knights of Aragon...off to another battle !

the underside of the arch is a calendar depicting seasons of the year

What a place and what a visit to the castle...my lieges have served me well...

Click on or touch any photo to enlarge...