Chapterhouse
In the lower part of the east wing can be found the Gothic style Chapterhouse, which is the current chapel of the Virgin of Health.
In the lower part of the east wing can be found the Gothic style Chapterhouse, which is the current chapel of the Virgin of Health. This building was an essential component of monastic life, as it was there that the monks gathered to read the chapter.
With a quadrangular floor plan, the roof was constructed using vaults, following the same course as the arches in the lower cloister. This means that it was part of the first stage of construction.
It was first used as a chapel towards the end of the 16th Century for the cult of the family that owned the monastery. For this purpose an altar and a neo-gothic altarpiece housing a replica of the Virgin of Heath from the church in Rótova were installed. According to the documentary archives, this replica belonged to the monastery.
It is worth placing an emphasis on the stairway, which is also visible from the cloister, which occupies the south-east corner of the room and leads to the upper cloister. It is a spiral staircase in Gothic-Flamenco style, constructed towards the end of the 15th or at the beginning of the 16th Century, covered with plasterwork with plant decorations in high relief. An emphasis should also be placed on the tile work on the steps, which is 16th Century Valencian ceramic.
Special mention should be made of the Gothic tomb of the Infants John and Blanche of Aragon, children of Alfonso the Old. This tomb was constructed by the maestro of Xàtiva, Pere Andreu in 1380, before work was started to construct the monastery. This tomb, set high up in the northern wall of this room, is a magnificent example of funerary art of the Valencian Gothic style that still retains polychrome traces.
