Museums and Palaces

There are references to the parish of Santa Maria dating back as far as 1321, when it was handed to the Order of the Hospital, led by the Prior of Crato in this region of the Alentejo.

The church was built close to the castle, on one of the highest points, overlooking one of the main streets of the town itself. Built in the Gothic style, it was remodelled during the 17th century, a fact that highlights the demographic expansion that had taken place in the town, although such a peak of population was never again matched until the present day, with the result that Marvão has managed to preserve its mediaeval features largely unaltered since then.

Transformed into a Municipal Museum, in 1987, the church´s original religious function can still be recognised in its overall structure and in an 18th-century chapel, its walls covered in figurative azulejo panels and containing an altar in baroque carved woodwork.

The museum space exhibits archaeological remains found in the local region and ethnographic items that help us to interpret the history of Marvão. Attention is drawn to the section devoted to popular beliefs and home-made remedies, which are still to be found and are in fact practised in this region even today.