Convento de la Anunciacion (Annunciation Convent), Salamanca

Founded between 1460 and 1470 by Sancha Maldonado, the convent originally bore the dedication of Saint Ursula. Its establishment was confirmed by a papal bull issued by Pope Sixtus IV in 1480, at which time its name was changed to the Annunciation of Mary. It served as a home for the Franciscan Sisters of the Third Order, quietly shaping Salamanca’s spiritual landscape.

Architecturally, the surviving complex presents an evocative exterior-with its Gothic apse adorned with delicate Hispano‑Flemish crestería and remnants of sculptural flourishes. The south façade features three distinct portals: two twin Baroque entrances leading to the church, crafted in 1722 by Jerónimo García de Quiñones, each framed with Ionic pilasters, classical frieze, and displaying heraldic coats of arms of the Fonseca and Monterrey families. The third, more austere doorway gives access to the convent itself, marked by a Gothic angel bearing the archbishop’s shield.

Stepping inside, visitors will discover a single‑nave church layout with separate high and low choirs-one reserved for the community, the other for the faithful. A star‑ribbed vault covers the apse, which is adorned with the founder’s tomb-Alonso II de Fonseca’s sepulchre, a Renaissance masterpiece sculpted in 1529 by Diego de Siloé.

Today, the convent's former church accommodates a small but compelling museum, housed in the former lower choir since 1968, and reorganized and reopened in 2019 under the guidance of the Las Edades del Hombre Foundation. Highlights include works by García Fernández, Juan de Borgoña, and paintings from the workshop of Luis de Morales, plus rotating contemporary exhibits such as Miquel Navarro’s “City of Towers”.