Stunning baroque interior
Although its external appearance seems rather neglected and abandoned, this church is a Property of Public Interest. We could;t see the inside as it was closed. It faces the Barcelos fairgrounds, in the heart of the city. The church was built in 1701 by the Archbishop of Braga, Rodrigo de Moura Teles, by order of King João V. Initially it was a Benedictine convent, in the late eighteenth century it passed into the hands of the Brotherhood of the Rosary. As I read, the beauty is inside, fully Baroque tile panels with scenes from the life of St. Benedict and moralizing emblems, frescoes on the ceilings (by Antonio de Oliveira Bernardes), gold carved altars (by Ambrósio Coelho) and a pulpit with canopy (attributed to Gabriel Alvares Rodrigues).