The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sameiro is a shrine in Espinho, in the surroundings of the city of Braga. ts construction was initiated in the 19th century, by Father Martinho da Silva, in neoclassical style. Artistically not have much interest except the silver tabernacle that we can see on the main altar and the image of the patron saint, held in Rome by the sculptor Eugénio Maccagnani and brought to the sanctuary in 1880.
Construction was begun on 14 July 1863 on the domed church of Nossa Senhora do Sameiro (Our Lady of Sameiro). The founder of the shrine was the Vicar of Braga, Padre Antonio Martinho Pereira da Silva. The sanctuary is the largest Marian devotional shrine in Portugal, second only to the Sanctuary of Fátima.
Pope Pius IX granted the decree of Canonical coronation towards the Marian image on 22 December 1876. The rite of coronation was executed on 12 June 1904 via Archbishop Giuseppe Macchi.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.