Monuments

The altar of the Patroness of Portugal.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Conception, in Vila Viçosa, is also known as the Solar of the Patron because it preserves the image that in 1646 was declared Patroness of Portugal, and is considered one of the most important places of Marian Devotion in the country. It has a rich history in events related to the Portuguese crown.

According to some experts, Marian Devotion there is related to Nuno Alvares Pereira, Constable of the Kingdom, who at the end of the 14th century ordered the building of a church called Nossa Senhora do Castelo, to celebrate the Portuguese victory over the Castilians in Aljubarrota (1385). The image of Our Lady of the Conception is thought to have been acquired by the Constable in England.

The current building stems from a renovation undertaken during the reign of D. Sebastião, which spanned from 1569 to 1606 and gave the facade its Mannerist traits. Thanks to the furniture and other decorative elements, the interior exhibits other bold artistic nuances, like the baroque and rococo.

The side chapels have Mannerist and Rococo altarpieces and in the centre of the high altar the sculptures of Christ Crucified, on top, and of the Immaculate Conception, which is the Patron of the Sanctuary, are enthroned.  It was on this image that King D. João IV placed his crown, consecrating the Kingdom to the protection of Our Lady of the Conception of Vila Viçosa. Since then Portuguese kings have ceased to wear crowns.

This sanctuary has already been visited by important Portuguese and foreign entities, among them Pope John Paul II, who on his first visit to the country in 1982 came to pray at the feet of the Patroness. Every year there is a large pilgrimage to the shrine of Vila Viçosa, on December 8, the day of the Immaculate Conception.