Capela das Onze Mil Virgens

Capela das Onze Mil Virgens
The Chapel of the Eleven Thousand Virgins was built inside the church of the Convent of St Anthony, founded in 1524 by Lady Violante Henriques, mother of Dom Pedro Mascarenhas, who later ordered its construction.

Dom Pedro Mascarenhas was the ambassador sent by king John III to defend Portuguese interests in Rome and was later appointed vice-roy of India.

Given the good relations between the ambassador and Michelangelo and Francis of Holland, and also due to the Italian style of the chapel, some historians consider the latter designed the temple, one of the most remarkable examples of Renaissance architecture in Portugal.