Claustre de L’Escola d’Art i Cultura

At the beginning of the 18^th century, works began in order to improve the defence of the city of Tortosa and the layout of the walls was modified; this implied the demolition of the old convent of the Order of Sant Joan de Jerusalem, located near the river Ebro and often suffering from floods, such as those of 1605 and 1617.

The new convent was built on a higher area and it was inaugurated in 1734. In 1811, during the Napoleonic War, the building was seized by the French and used as a war hospital and weapons storehouse. In 1814, the nuns “Hospitaleres de Sant Joan de Jerusalem” returned, but in 1936 it was assaulted and set on fire. It was restored in 1941 and the nuns remained there again until 1967.

The restoration only affected the interior layout of the rooms, leaving the central courtyard in its original state. The courtyard is surrounded by a gallery on all three levels, formed by rounded arches, rectangular pillars with simple bases and molded capitals.

Currently, we can find the “Casal Tortosí” on the ground floor and since 1988, the School of Art and Design of the Government of Tarragona in Tortosa on the upper floors.