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The temple of Lufrei, located in a valley near the confluence of two small water creeks, was once the seat of a small female monastic institute of which no traces remain.
The Church, secularized in 1455, integrates the category of late Romanesque, witness of the vernacularity and popularity that such style had among rural communities in northern Portugal.
Without any carved decoration, the Church is lit by narrow crevices positioned at key points of the building. The quadrangular corbels and the arrangement of the portals attest for its late execution.
The interior was radically changed in Modern Age. The altarpiece [main altar] of Mannerist nature stands out, where paintings, "painted old style" are found preserved, as described in 1726 by the memoirist Craesbeeck.
Also the two altarpieces [altars] of the nave feature traits from this period. However, what most arouses our curiosity are mural paintings hidden under the bed of plaster that covers the entire Church, though some traces are already visible both in the chancel and in the nave.
Type: Church
Classification: Public Interest Building – 1971
Route: Tâmega Valley
1258 - Witnesses to the “Inquirições” [administrative enquiries] mention the family of Gonçalo João da Pedreira as founders (and patrons) of the Monastery of Lufrei;
1455 - The monastic church is reduced to secular by archbishop D. Fernando da Guerra;
1726 - Francisco Craesbeeck describes the Church with its "ancient-style altarpiece", as we know it today;
1882 - The parish of Lufrei is transferred from the Archdiocese of Braga to the diocese of Porto;
1971 - Classification of the Church of Lufrei as Building of Public Interest;
2001 - Abandonment of the Church of Lufrei, whose worship was transferred to a new temple;
2010 - Integration of the Church of the Saviour of Lufrei in the Route of the Romanesque;
2013 - General conservation of the roofing and conservation and restoration of altarpieces and mural paintings, under the scope of the Route of the Romanesque;
2014-2015 - General conservation of the Church of Lufrei at the level of the outer vestments, access doors and lighting and ventilation openings, under the scope of the Route of the Romanesque.
Divine Saviour - 6th August
By appointment
Monument not accessible to visitors with reduced mobility.
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