Convent of the Capuchos

The Convent of the Frairs Minor Capuchin, popularly known as the Convent of the Capuchos, is a historical convent consisting of small quarters and public spaces located in the civil parish of São Pedro de Penaferrim.

The convent was founded in 1560, consisting of eight monks that arrived from the Convent of Arrábida. Between 1578 and 1580, the Chapel of Santo António was constructed, along with the erection of a wall around the convent, under the orders of Cardinal Henry.

In the 17th century, a painting/panel of São Pascoal Bailão, by Vicente Carducho, was completed, while in 1610 several mural paintings on the exterior of the Chapel of Senhor Morto. In 1650 a marker was erected to identify the road to the convent.

As a result of the extinction of the religious orders in Portugal, in 1834, the convent was acquired by the second Count of Penamacor, D. António de Saldanha Albuquerque e Castro Ribafria (1815-1864). It remained in the possession of this generation until 1873, when it was acquired by Sir Francis Cook, first Viscount of Monserrate.

In the first half of the 20th century, the site was acquired by the State, although little was done until the middle of that century. It was bought by the Portuguese State in 1949. The General Directorate of Buildings and National Monuments began a series of public projects to preserve the site starting in the 1950s.

The Capuchos Convent became part of the Cultural Landscape of Sintra World Heritage Site, classified by UNESCO in 1995.

Address
N247-3, Sintra, Portugal

Established
1560