Church of Nossa Senhora da Nazaré
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré is an imposing church located on the hilltop O Sitio overlooking Nazaré, Portugal.
This church was built to commemorate the miraculous intervention of the Nossa Senhora da Nazaré. According to legend the sheriff (alcalde) of Porto de Mos, Dom Fuas Roupinho, was chasing on horseback a deer up a hilltop on a misty September morning in 1182. Later it was said that it was the Devil, in the guise of a deer. When the deer jumped over the edge of the hilltop into the void, his fiery horse was about to follow. Then the knight invoked the intervention of the Madonna, who made the horse turn away through a supernatural effort and saved the life of the knight. Subsequently, a chapel was built on this spot. There is still a small chapel (Ermida da Memoria), where one can see the imprint of the horseshoe in the rock.
The church was rebuilt in the 17th century. Semicircular steps lead to a Baroque portal under two square belltowers. The façade has gallery-like extensions.
The profusely decorated gilded apse shows the small statue of Nossa Senhora da Nararé in a lit niche above the main altar, flanked by twisted columns. Above the crossing of the single nave with the transept is a cupola and a lantern. They are all vaulted by a gilt coffer ceiling.
The many azulejos in the transept were made in 1708 by the Dutch ceramist Willem van der Kloet(1666-1747). They depict biblical scenes, among them Joseph being sold as a slave by his brothers.
On 8 September of each year a romaria (religious festival) draws mazny tourists with the processions, bullfights and folk dancing.
 Detail |
 Apse |
 Azulejos by Willem van der Kloet in the transept |
[edit] References
- The Rough Guide to Portugal - March 2005, 11th edition- ISBN 1-84353-438-X
- Rentes de Carvalho J. - Portugal, um guia para amigos (in Dutch Translation Portugal; De Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 1989; 9th edition, 1999 - ISBN 90-295-3466-4
