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The Church of Saint Vincent of Sousa displays two inscriptions on its façade.
The first dating from 1162 and marking the construction of an arcosolium [embedded tomb]; the other, engraved in 1214, celebrates the Dedication of the Church [beginning of the cult].
The Church is composed of a single nave and a rectangular chancel, enlarged in the Modern Age (17th-18th centuries).
The main façade features a Romanesque portal which opens out as a pentagonal structure stemming from the façade.
This means the portal may be larger and more impressive symbolically. The lateral façades end in small arches on plain modillions as in other Romanesque churches in the area of Tâmega and Sousa.
A drip-course runs over corbels on half of the wall of the south façade, suggesting that a roofed porch or a cloister [inner patio of a monastery] used to exist here.
The carvings and paintings of themes alluding to the lives of Saint Vincent, Saint Joseph and the Mysteries of the Rosary date from the Modern Age.
The paintings on the ceiling of the chancel were completed in 1693 by Manuel Freitas Padrão, one of the founders of the Brotherhood of Saint Luke of Guimarães.
Type: Church
Classification: National Monument - 1977
Route: Sousa Valley
1162 – The original transept was already built;
1214 – Dedication of the Church by the Archbishop of Braga, D. Estêvão Soares da Silva;
17th and 18th centuries – Renovation and transformation of the Church and reconstruction of the chevet;
1980 – Several preservation and restoration works conducted by the parish under the technical guidance of the DGEMN – Direção Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais [General Directorate for Buildings and National Monuments];
1989 – Conservation and requalification of the covers, exterior draining and electrical installation;
1992 – General improvement works to the coverage, restoration of the ceiling and altar;
1998 – The Church of Saint Vincent of Sousa is included in the Route of the Romanesque of Vale do Sousa;
2004 – Works of general preservation in the scope of the Route of the Romanesque of Vale do Sousa project;
2005 – Works of general preservation of the batters in the bell tower and sacristy;
2012-2013 – General conservation of the Church, mostly at the levels of the roofs and external walls, under the scope of the Route of the Romanesque;
2015 – Works on the surrounding area by upgrading the churchyard (sealing, street furniture and sealing / identification of the resulting graves of the archaeological excavations), under the scope of the Route of the Romanesque.
Saint Vicent – 22nd January
By appointment
Sunday – 9.30 am; Thursday - 8.30 pm
Monument fully or partly accessible to visitors with reduced mobility.
+351 255 810 706
+351 918 116 488
visitasrr@valsousa.pt
