Monuments

Situated in the Ribeira parish, this church was built in the 13th century, at the orders of the king, and restored in the 14th century, at the initiative of the court. However, the church that we can see today dates from the 16th century, the period when it was completely rebuilt. Inside, it still contains the tombs and coat of arms of its founders (Lourenço Domingos Minatos and his wife Eiria Affonso Caeira).

This church is worth visiting, in particular, for the Baroque features that we can find there: the main doorway and the side door, from 1712, the 17th and 18th-century azulejos that line the walls, and the paintings on the ceiling, all examples of the highly-developed decorative art of that time.

You should also make sure to enter the Sala da Irmandade (the Room of the Brotherhood), which was added to the church in the 18th century. Here, you can admire the perspective of the paintings on the ceiling, dating from 1723. The walls are lined with panels of blue and white azulejos, painted by the master P.M.P. and depicting scenes from the Old Testament.

This is an excellent work and demonstrates the artist´s great mastery of the technique of tile painting, successfully highlighting the scenogaphic spaces, created through the use of theatrical frames. Notice the skilful drawing, with different shades of blue being used, although they are all obtained from just one pigment, cobalt.