Santa Maria do Castelo Church

About

Built in the place of the former mosque after the conquest by Dom Paio Peres Correia, it goes up to the XIII century. After the 1755 earthquake it was rebuilt by the bishop Dom Francisco Gomes de Avelar. The façade presents neo-classic pilasters, splitting in the central cloth the gothic doorway with four archivolts containing vegetarian chapiters, remains of the original building. The inner part, a Latin cross longitudinal plant, has got three naves with lateral chapels, especially the «Senhor dos Passos» (Manueline Art) and a place of honour divided into three parts. The Chancel has got in its lateral walls the tombs of Dom Paio Peres Correia and the seven knights killed by the Moors. The collateral chapel of the Gospel keeps a gothic arch that relies on columns with vegetarian chapiters. The Santa Maria Church has been classified as a National monument by a June 1910 decree.

At a glance

• Typical visit: about 30 minutes