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Origin and history

The Dominican Convent of Collioure was founded in 1290 on the initiative of King James II of Majorca, who wanted to establish a Dominican religious community in the city. Thanks to the donation of land and buildings by Guillaume Puig of Orfila, a local bourgeois, the Preacher brothers were able to settle extramural, 200 metres from the ramparts. The first leaders of the convent were Pierre Missa, Prior, and Jacques de Arulio, Reader. Although the archives do not detail the construction, attested donations allowed its rapid development. The church, of southern Gothic type, was consecrated in 1457 after necessary restorations following the Aragonese occupation of 1344 and the earthquake of 1428.

Situated between the mountains and the sea, at the end of the beach of the Port of Avall, the convent is distinguished by a single nave church 42 meters long, backed by foothills and equipped with six side chapels. The chorus, now flat, was probably polygonal at the beginning, as suggested by the traces of tearing and a visible discharge arc. The facade, adorned with a white marble portal with grey and two classified arches, bears witness to the importance of the place. The cloister, partially dismantled, was reconstructed thanks to remains exposed to the Pams Museum in Collioure.

The convent experienced degradations related to conflicts and natural disasters, such as the 1344 military occupation or the 1428 earthquake. After the Revolution, its cloister was looted, and its architectural elements were dispersed. Since 1926, the buildings have been home to a wine cooperative cellar, while the church and its remains were listed or listed in the Historic Monuments between 1928 and 2008. Today, houses occupy the site of the old conventual buildings, incorporating elements of use such as columnettes or a well.

The church, dedicated to preaching, has an apparent decorated structure and a bell tower covered with a brick dome. The arches of the cloister, in a three lobes broken arch, rested on columns with capitals decorated with foliage, faces and animals. Despite the transformations, the site retains traces of its religious and architectural past, between medieval heritage and contemporary reuse.

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