Saint Amaro Church

Largo de Santo Amaro - 7800 Beja
Phone: (+351) 284.323.351

URL: Saint Amaro Church

Saint Amaro Church
Although the exact date of its foundation is unknown (possibly, the 10th century), the Igreja de Santo Amaro was built outside the walls of the city, close to the old gate of Évora, where once an ancient paleo-Christian basilica stood.

The alterations and remodellings to which it was submitted over the ages, specially in the 15th and 16th centuries, gave the church its actual configuration.

The simple and humble exterior façade has Mudejar windows; the richly decorated Visigothic chapiters used in the construction are hidden inside, making this church an unique example of this period´s architecture.

It is due to this fact that the Visigothic Nucleus of the Museum Rainha Dona Leonor was installed here, displaying significant archaeological findings of the period, most of which were collected within the limits of the county of Beja.

The Festival of Santo Amaro, patron saint of the church and of the disabled, was held here every 15th of January until the 19th century.

According to the tradition, cakes and sweets shaped like arms and legs were auctioned at the festival; whoever ate them would be free forever of diseases in the limbs.