Description of the attraction
The Church of São Bento is located outside the city walls and is considered one of the most attractive architectural monuments in Bragança. The church is located in the lower part of the city and was formerly part of a Benedictine monastery founded in the 12th century. But over time, the monastery fell into disrepair, they began to dismantle it in order to use materials in other buildings.
The Church of São Bento was built under the leadership of Bishop Antonio Pinheiro in the 16th century. Above the entrance door to the temple, in a niche, there is a stone statue of St. Benedict, after whom the church is named. Saint Benedict of Nursia is the founder of the Catholic monastic order, which later became known as the Benedictine Order. The niche is also decorated with royal coats of arms. There is one nave inside the church, the ceiling is painted in the Renaissance style. From the outside, the church looks quite simple, but the interior decoration of the temple is quite rich: icons framed by carved gilded frames, the main altar of the church, covered with gilding and decorated with angels. Also, inside the church, a very beautiful altar shelf of the 18th century, made of wood with gilding, attracts special attention. But first of all, the church is known for the fact that the ceiling in the altar part is decorated in the Moorish style, and the painting of the nave is done using the trompe l'oeil technique (a technique in art for creating visual illusions).
