You can see the tower and its bells from the cloister, its bronze dome glistens in the midday sun. It was the inspiration for the infamous tower and bells in the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones.
Princess Daenerys chose not to listen to the ringing of the bells, dooming the citizens of King’s Landing and transforming the old town into an inferno. But that’s fantasy. Here, everything is peaceful and tranquil.
There are only a few visitors at the cloister, giving you the feeling of almost being alone. It feels like a liminal space. So close to all the city’s visitors and the noise of tourism, yet here it feels like it’s all out of reach.
Every little column of the Franciscan monastery is decorated with a different creature. There is a sheep, a goat, a lion, a fish, a horse, flowers, and even a dragon. It feels as if the production design team for Game of Thrones was at work here. Almost every animal that represents a noble house in Game of Thrones can be found. But the columns and their decorations have been here long before the fantasy story was written.
They are remnants of a past when the world was truly more like Game of Thrones and not a modern one, filled with technology and science. The cloister and its garden are a testament to time.
Fabian's Writing 