History Of An Alboaire Vault: The Funeral Chapel Of Gonzalo Lopez De La Fuente In The Convent Of Concepcion Francisca In Toledo And How It Came To Be Called San Jeronimo

The origin of the convent of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate and its foundation on the monastery of San Francisco, which was itself founded on the Palacios de Galiana, is vital to understanding what has been known since the 19th century as the chapel of San Jeronimo. In his 1845 book Toledo pintoresca, Jose Amador de los Rios referred to it as "an entirely abandoned chapel" and mistook the iconography of the altarpiece, describing it as "consecrated to San Geronimo". In applying to the Spanish Ministry of Development for it to be declared a national monument (23 April 1884), Juan Facundo Riano made the same mistake. The chapel was founded in 1422 as a funerary chapel for "Gonzalo Lopez de la Fuente, mercador (merchant)", married to "Maria Gonzalez", as the inscription on the hexagonal tiles (traditionally known as alfardones) at the base of the dome states. The tiles also state that "Alfonso Ferandes Coladio" tiled the chapel. In 1905 Font I Guma drew attention for the first time to the extraordinary tiles in the dome, attributing them to the workshops of Manises. The historic study conducted for its restoration - commissioned by the Consorcio de Toledo - and the conclusions it reached, provide us with important information that allows us to look at it from a fresh perspective.