At this event we'll get to know the Convent of Santos-o-Novo, a building with an incredible history and one of the largest cloisters in the Iberian Peninsula. We'll also take advantage of the late afternoon for a stroll around the neighbourhood.

Convent of Santos-o-Novo

Built at the beginning of the 17th century, during the reign of Philip II, for the Comendadeiras of the Order of Santiago, it was partially destroyed by the 1755 earthquake and then restored. After the extinction of the religious orders (1834), the Comendadeiras remained in the building until the Implantation of the Republic (1910), when the second floor was occupied by the D. António da Costa Higher Primary School and later by the Sidónio Pais Institute. It currently belongs to the Recolhimentos. It is an imposing building that was never completed. The square cloister, one of the largest in the Iberian Peninsula, is divided into galleries with round arches and houses the Chapels of Our Lady of the Steps and the Incarnation, covered in carvings, statues and tiles. The church, with a single nave and five side chapels, has gilded wood carvings, polychrome marble and tile panels, especially those lining the walls that tell the story of the life of the Holy Martyrs. Its classification as a Property of Public Interest covers the church, the cloister and other dependencies, as well as the landscaped outdoor areas, forming the whole of the convent enclosure