Solar and Chapel of Saint Rita

Category: Religious Architecture > Church

District: Açores > Vila do Porto > Almagreira > Carreira

Location

The Solar and Hermitage of Santa Rita are located in the Carreira area, in the parish of Almagreira, which belongs to the municipality of Vila do Porto, on the island of Santa Maria, in the Azores. Set in a rural environment, next to the road and sheltered by walls, the complex is part of an old agricultural estate. The main house, a manor (solar), rises on a platform that adapts to the terrain's slope, with a paved front area that gives it prominence in the surrounding landscape.

Origins and Purpose

This historical complex, dating from the first half of the 18th century, is a testament to the island's architecture and social life. The hermitage, invoked to Santa Rita or Nossa Senhora da Natividade, was built as a private chapel for a manor, a wealthy house of the time. It was common practice on the island for these chapels to also serve the local community, with religious celebrations for residents of the area, resulting from agreements between the proprietors and the Franciscan friars.

A Family Legacy

The construction of the hermitage is linked to a family tradition that spans generations. It is said that its erection resulted from a promise made by a female owner in the 18th century. During a violent storm that struck the island, lightning severely injured her husband and took the life of a brother. The promise to build a chapel to Our Lady, should her husband recover, materialized after the grace was granted, giving rise to this place of faith. The Solar and Hermitage of Santa Rita remain, even today, under the purview of the same family, and underwent conservation work in the 1960s, presenting themselves in good condition.

Architecture and Setting

The hermitage features a rectangular plan and is built of stone masonry, plastered and painted, adjoining the left side of the main dwelling. Its facade is marked by wide quoins and a depressed arch doorway, whose keystone displays a shell in relief. This entrance is flanked by pilasters topped with pinnacles, and surmounted by a simple-framed window with a curved lintel. At the rear of the left side facade, a bell tower rises with a perfect arch that houses the bell. The hermitage's churchyard, with its irregular shape and cobbled pavement, is delimited by a unique wall, with a triangular section coping and covered by half-round tiles, a traditional architectural feature.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt