The convent of San Marcos is one of the great architectural jewels of the Spanish city of León, along with the cathedral, the Basilica of San Isidoro and the Casa Botines. It is today converted into a Spanish tourist parador, as well as a consecrated church and, formerly, the Museum of León, being one of the most important monuments of the Spanish Renaissance.

The origins of this building are in the 12th century, when in the time of Alfonso VII de León, his sister, the Infanta Sancha Raimúndez, in July 1152 made a donation for the construction of a modest building on the outskirts of the city walled and on the banks of the river Bernesga, where "the poor of Christ" could stay, thus becoming a temple-hospital for pilgrims who made the Camino de Santiago. Likewise, the building was the main residence in the kingdom of León of the Order of Santiago.

In 1176 the first prior was elected, and in 1184 Pedro Fernández de Castro, the first master of the Order of Santiago, received a burial in his church.

In the 16th century, the medieval building was in poor condition, so it was demolished and a new work was carried out thanks to a donation from Ferdinand the Catholic in 1514.

The architects appointed for this work were: Juan de Orozco (church), Martín de Villarreal (facade) and Juan de Badajoz el Mozo (cloister and sacristy). However, it was not until well into the reign of Carlos I that the new work began.

It is known that in 1537 the canvas of the main facade of the convent was built from the entrance to the church, which was consecrated in 1541.

In the following years, Orozco built the sculptures on the façade, the choir was made, and in 1549, Juan de Badajoz finished the sacristy, inside which the tomb is currently located, with a prayerful statue, of Bishop Juan Quiñones de Guzmán, a work sculptural attributed to Esteban Jordán.

The works were suspended in 1566 due to the transfer of the community to Calera and then to Mérida, but the return of the friars to San Marcos in 1602 gave impetus to the continuation of the work.

In 1615 the staircase was built and in 1679 the part of the cloister that was still missing was completed.

Finally, between 1711 and 1715 a great extension of the building was carried out, raising another canvas that goes from the main entrance towards the river, until it ends in the palatial tower. This new canvas perfectly imitates the one built in the 16th century, with hardly any artistic difference between the two halves of the facade.