Antiga Igreja Matriz de Aljezur: A Medieval Parish Church in Portugal
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.2
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Portugal
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Portuguese
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page10 sections
History
The Antiga Igreja Matriz de Aljezur is a Roman Catholic parish church in Portugal, built in the thirteenth century in the Romanesque style, probably after the Christian reconquest of Aljezur. Historian José António Martins proposed that it may have been complete when King Denis of Portugal first visited the Algarve in 1282, and it was probably open for worship when he returned in 1302. The earliest surviving records that mention the church date from 1320–1321, when Denis ordered a census of the population.
The Order of Santiago
The Order of Santiago, a military religious order with religious, administrative, and territorial responsibilities in medieval Portugal, carried out repeated repairs and improvements to the church. Roof and flooring problems prompted particular attention. During the sixteenth century, the main altar was completely rebuilt in the Manueline style, a late Gothic Portuguese style associated with the reign of King Manuel I. A sacristy was added, and wall frescoes were removed. Some Mannerist paintings from the original church were later transferred to the new parish church. Mannerism was a sixteenth-century style known for elongated forms, artificial elegance, and complex compositions.
Earthquake, Cemetery, and Relocation
The earthquake of 1755 destroyed the church and left it in ruins. Francisco Gomes de Avelar, Bishop of the Algarve, subsequently planned a new settlement on flatter and healthier ground, including a new parish church. Resistance from Aljezur’s inhabitants delayed the relocation, which was completed only in the nineteenth century.
The church had been used for burials before the earthquake, and its ruins continued to serve as a cemetery until the nineteenth century. Parts of the structure were probably incorporated into nearby houses. Bartolomeu Perestrelo, who died in the mid-fifteenth century and was the father-in-law of Christopher Columbus, was probably buried in the church.
Archaeological Investigation
Archaeological research at Aljezur’s former cemetery began in May 2008, in the first campaign intended to enhance the site’s archaeological value. The intervention was organized by the Association for the Defense of Aljezur’s Historical and Archaeological Heritage, Arqueonova, and Aljezur Municipal Council. The ruins and cemetery also produced evidence of earlier occupation, including Roman construction remains and coins associated with various peoples.
The 2008 investigation recovered thirty coins, mainly dinheiros of the first Portuguese dynasty and ceitis minted between the mid-fifteenth century and the end of Manuel I’s reign. The burials formed several successive levels. The earliest excavated layer dates from the sixteenth century and contained mainly adults, elderly people, infants, and fetuses, together with a small number of young adults. The latest burial layer dates from the nineteenth century. These remains offer evidence about the population’s age structure and were expected to provide information about diet and disease. They also indicate that people who survived childhood could sometimes reach advanced age despite the period’s low life expectancy.
Remains
Church Ruins and Architectural Fragments
The ruins lie in Aljezur’s historic center, near Aljezur Castle, the Antoniano Museum, and the José Cercas Painter House Museum. The church began as a Romanesque building and underwent several structural changes before reaching a final form whose main altar had a Manueline Gothic configuration. Early descriptions present a single-nave church approached by a staircase and entered through three pointed-arch portals. The largest portal carried a heraldic stone with the arms of the Order of Santiago, now preserved in the Municipal Museum.
The archaeological work exposed sections of the former tiled floor, which had been lifted as graves were dug, along with a side wall containing a blocked doorway. That wall was later incorporated into the cemetery boundary. Remains of the former arcades and other architectural pieces were also reused in those walls. A notable fragment is a disk-shaped stele decorated with a recessed quatrefoil with straight ends and an eight-pointed star.
Bell Tower and Surviving Bell
The original building had a bell tower incorporated into its south wall, with space for two bells. One bell survived the 1755 earthquake and is displayed in the Monsignor Francisco Pardal Museum of Sacred Art. Cast in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, it is considered one of the oldest bells in Portugal. Its two cords bear inscriptions in Carolingian-Gothic lettering, a medieval form of script that developed from Carolingian minuscule and was widely used in the later Middle Ages.
The bell also bears a crowned image of Saint Mary of Alva holding the Christ Child, while Saint Barbara appears on the opposite face. Saint Barbara was traditionally associated with protection against lightning, storms, and sudden death. Her representation is notable in connection with the Order of Santiago because she was patron of only two of the order’s churches in the Algarve, at Faro and Tavira.
Burial Ground and Excavated Objects
Burials
The cemetery contains evidence of burial practices across several centuries. Children were buried with copper-wire branches bearing blue and green flowers and leaves, placed around the head or over the torso. Coffin burials are represented by fragments of wood, lining textiles, bronze and iron handles, clothing pieces, leather shoes, and bronze eyelets. Most individuals were buried without coffins, while coffins, which cost more, were generally reserved for wealthier inhabitants.
Objects from the Church and Cemetery
Excavated material included part of a terracotta statue of the crucified Christ, which may have belonged to the church. Other finds included beads, pins, rings, and metal, glass, and mother-of-pearl buttons. Together with the coins and architectural fragments, these objects preserve evidence of religious practice, personal dress, and the changing use of the former church and cemetery.
