The Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora da Assunção de Alvito, as it is officially known, was built in the late 13th or early 14th century and was dedicated to Santa Maria de Alvito at the time. Between 1485 and 1535, it underwent extension work, with almost all of the walls being knocked down.
Archaeologist Jorge Feio assures us that “it is still possible to see architectural elements from the first phase.
The extension is identical to the Igreja Matriz de Viana do Alentejo, so it may have been designed by the same architects (the Arrudas family, architects of the Court)”.
Dom João Fernandes da Silveira, the first Baron of Alvito (and of Portugal), is buried in this church.
Its greatest wealth is fundamentally in its interior, through the gilded carved altars (the one on the main altar was placed between 1692 and 1705) and the tiles: those in the main chapel were placed before 1625, and others, “Persian carpet type”, some of them using only yellow and white, “very rare”, which decorate the body of the church, dating from 1647.
The Parish Church of Alvito, also known as the Alvito Parish Church or the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, is a religious monument in the town of Alvito, in the Alentejo region of Portugal. It is an important example of a fortified sanctuary, with defensive elements that integrate it in the late Gothic Alentejo style, with Mudejar and Manueline inspiration. Due to the various campaigns of construction that it has undergone throughout its history, the Alvito Parish Church incorporates several styles, namely Gothic, Baroque, Manueline, Renaissance and Mannerist. Originally built in the 13th century, it underwent extensive expansion works between the 15th and 16th centuries, which gave it a new configuration. It is classified as a National Monument.
The church was built at the end of the 13th century and underwent several extensions in the following centuries. This temple combines several styles, from Gothic to Baroque, as well as Manueline, Renaissance and Mannerism. On the south side is the bell tower, which houses a marble sundial. The interior of the church is in the shape of a cross and has three naves with vaults that feature Gothic and Renaissance elements. Much of the interior is covered in 17th-century tiles.
Translated by Google •
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