Church of Sâo Domingos, Viana do Castelo, Portugal

Church of Sâo Domingos (1576) has its origins in the convent of Santa Cruz founded by the Dominican Friar Bartolomeu dos Mártires (1514-1590), once the archbishop of Braga.

Bartolomeu dos Mártires is a famous prelate who took part in the Council of Trent (1545-1563) that opposed the 'heresies' of the Protestant Reformation and his statue, riding a donkey, stands in the square outside the church. In 1582, he received papal permission to resign as archbishop and retire to the convent in Viana do Castelo, where he lived largely in solitude for the remainder of his life.

The church is laid out with a single nave and transept in the Latin Cross style with chapels leading off to the sides.

The highlight of the ornate interior is the gilded, carved altar of Our Lady of the Rosary by José Alvares de Araújo dating from the late 18th century. Notice the finely rendered shells, flowers and volutes in the design that is a wonderful example of Portuguese Rococo.

The large interior of the church has a high, wooden ceiling done in pastel shades. Azulejos tile work depicting various Biblical scenes decorate the walls. The church contains several other ornate altars and chapels leading off from the nave. Above the main entrance is the organ reached by a dark, wooden staircase.

References:

portugalvisitor.com

Religious sites in Portugal

User Reviews

Dino Costa (3 years ago)
Beautiful church. There are many altars covered with gold. Going to Portuguese churches you can see where all the gold from the mines in Brazil ended up.

Debra Buchanan (3 years ago)
Beautiful church

José Passos (4 years ago)
Uma das igrejas mais emblemáticas da Viana do Castelo, ligada à vida de Frei Bartolomeu dos Mártires. Situa-se na freguesia onde nasci, Monserrate.

Lúcio Afonso (4 years ago)
Não posso comentar este, porque como orgulhoso vianense, não seria bem isento?

Hanna Mitra Rambaran (5 years ago)
It was really beautifull. Sorry we could not make any picture s

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

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Church of Sâo Domingos

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