Pórtico. Sta. María la Real. Gradefes

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The monastery located in the Leonese lands of Gradefes de Rueda, on the banks of the Esla River, was founded in 1177 as a female Cistercian convent by nuns from Tulebras (Navarra) coming from there. The foundation of the monastery is due to the noble woman Teresa Petri from Leon. Teresa Petri was the wife of the knight García Pérez, who in the year 1151 received from King Alfonso VII all the realengo property he had in the area. It is likely that the first stone of the church was placed on March 1st, 1177, nine years after its founding, although the community would already be installed in a provisional building. In the northern nave there is the oldest of the doors, also the only one accessible to the public, made in the 13th century. It's a simple portal, with jambs that support a pointed double arch, decorated on its exterior with a zigzag frieze, and framed by a double mold parallel to the arch.