Igreja de Santa Maria, Sintra, Portugal

The parish of Santa Maria de Sintra dates back to the time of Portugal’s foundation as a nation, when Dom Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, conquered Sintra from the Moors. At that time, a small chapel was built here, later reconstructed in the 13th century by the prior Martim Dade.

The great earthquake of 1755 caused serious damage to the church, but the original Gothic portico survived, displaying the Renaissance features that correspond to alterations made in the 14th century.

Inside, the attention of visitors is drawn to the medieval decoration of the capitals and the painted and panelled vault of the ceiling, the Manueline font, a Renaissance stoup and an excellent 17th-century painted and gilded statue of Our Lady of the Conception.

References:

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User Reviews

Zofia Przybyłowska (9 months ago)
Beautiful church. The style is lovely, without pomp. Very well-kept and bright. It has a beautiful atmosphere and altar. The combination of light colors and tiles on the vault with golden accessories creates beautiful, unforgettable impressions. The experience is very real as there are local people there, which gives you the feeling of visiting a church and not a tourist attraction. Inside there are wooden benches that are renovated. You can see that the entire church has been preserved and restored. It's very worth visiting, I highly recommend it :)

Lina Nauli (15 months ago)
It's the church located on the way down of the hiking trail near Pena Palace.

Brad (2 years ago)
You will find the Church of Santa Maria along the hiking trail between the Moor's Castle and the Historic Centre of Sintra. It appears it has not held mass or regular services since 1982 based on the history information posted next to the church building. However, it is a National Monument (1922) and point of interest worth taking a quick look-see if you plan to walk the distance between the castle and town centre. Accounting to record, Santa Maria is noted as being one of the four area churches founded by King Afonso Henriques in the 12th century. Originally Romanesque in style, it took on Gothic features in the 13th and 14th centuries. After the earthquake in 1755, it was refurbished with hints of Baroque which you can see decorating the yellow facade and bell tower to this day.

Åtinạ VEGḀ (2 years ago)
A place to find a lost piece of peace in mind.

José Manuel Fernandes (4 years ago)
Esta é a principal edificação em estilo gótico existente actualmente na vila. Pequena mas de bonitas proporções, datando na sua forma do século XIII. Quando se visita é possível subir à torre sineira e de lá apreciar a bela paisagem de Sintra.

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