A monastery or convent, especially one used as a religious community dwelling in Spanish or Portuguese-speaking countries.
From Spanish and Portuguese convento, derived from Latin conventus (past participle of convenire, 'to come together'). The term originally meant any place where monks or nuns gathered to live communally under religious vows.
Many famous 'conventos' became centers of intellectual life during the Middle Ages and Renaissance—monks and nuns preserved books, developed medicines, and created art while society outside was in chaos. These buildings are architectural time capsules of religious devotion.
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