The churchyard of this church also serves as a viewpoint over a huge plain, where the Montado ecosystem still stands out... To the north, the Serra de Monfurado and the mining town of Santiago do Escoural can be seen perfectly...
The Igreja Matriz de São Salvador, built on a primitive Gothic temple founded in 1308 by the Bishop of Évora, D. Fernando III, was actually built in 1530-1531, under the auspices of Cardinal-Infante D. Afonso, Bishop of Évora.
The building, in Renaissance architecture, is the archetype of a hall church, in the Hallenkirchen style, with a rectangular floor plan, and is divided into three naves and five sections supported by powerful Doric granite columns. The three naves are preceded by a choir with three arcades protected by a balustrade.
The side naves have eight chapels, including the primitive chapel of the Gothic temple, in addition to the baptistery in the lower part of the upper choir. The central nave has a presbytery with a perfect round arch and a quadrangular floor plan. This is preceded by a carved wooden tribune, with a sacrarium in the lower part, which dates back to the end of the 17th century.
The front of this building opens onto a vast churchyard centred by the cross, where it is worth taking a moment to enjoy the vastness of the plain or to glimpse its sober and, at the same time, sumptuous main elevation. It consists of three portals, which connect with the interior, adorned with grey stucco ornaments, false windows, recessed windows, lunettes, pediments and bonfires and a central balcony. The two towers rise from granite stone, the same stone that reinforces the Doric pillars of the same elevation, topped by slender tips that disappear into the immense sky that greets them.
The Igreja Matriz de São Salvador, classified as a Property of Public Interest, is today a treasure to be discovered and known by all those who visit the region and especially the town of Alcáçovas, which holds a vast cultural heritage.
Translated by Google •
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