Convento de São Bento de Castris

Convento de São Bento de Castris
Situated at the parish of Malagueira, this 14th-century Cistercian convent is one of the oldest conventual constructions in Portugal.

Although it presents architectural characteristics of several periods, the Manueline style is the most conspicuous.

At the entrance, the portico is surmounted by a triangular fronton with the arms of St Bernard of Clairvaux at the center, originally flanked by images of the Order´s patron saints, St Bernard and St Benedict.

The building rises around a central cloister, built in the end of the 15th century, and has two floors; the first floor exhibits horseshoe arches and the second displays slightly curved arches.

The walls of the dining-hall are lined with 17th-century tiles and paintings from the same period.