Chapel of Souls

Category: Religious Architecture > Chapel

District: Aveiro > Santa Maria da Feira > Lourosa

Location

The Chapel of Souls is located in the town of Lourosa, in the municipality of Santa Maria da Feira. It stands in a spacious, flat churchyard, delimited by a whitewashed masonry wall, accessible via a front gate. This space, inviting a moment of pause, includes landscaped flowerbeds with plane trees and several stone benches.

Its setting is predominantly urban, with single-family homes and some cultivated land in the vicinity, lending it a tranquil atmosphere and a context that evokes the rural environment that once characterized the area.

Memory and Past

The Chapel of Souls, as we know it today, was built at the end of the 19th century, between 1877 and 1878. However, its history dates back centuries earlier, as it was constructed upon the foundations of an ancient parish church, which is believed to have existed on the site since the 16th century and was later decommissioned.

The name "Chapel of Souls" is a direct reference to its past, as the churchyard served for a long time as a burial ground. Even today, it is possible to observe traces of this ancient cemetery, with various tombstones, some of them anthropomorphic, which bear witness to the long history of this place of worship and memory. Elements of the primitive parish church, such as part of a wall and vestiges of the old bell tower, also remain in the surroundings.

Style and Architectural Details

The chapel features a simple rectangular plan, comprising a nave, chancel, and an attached sacristy. Its facades, plastered and painted white, are highlighted by ashlar quoins and friezes. On the main south-facing facade, a straight-lintel portal stands out, protected by a modern metal and glass exo-narthex, a more recent intervention that introduced a contemporary touch to the entrance. The bell tower, with its four openings for bells, rises above the main facade, slightly set back.

Inside, the white walls are complemented by high wooden wainscoting, and the ceilings are false lunette vaults, providing spaciousness. The nave has a wooden floor, and a large modern high choir, with a glass balustrade and access via metal spiral stairs, was added in recent renovations. Elements of historical and artistic value include an ancient granite baptismal font, with its cylindrical basin, and, in the sacristy, a notable 16th-century sepulchral slab of Jorge Pires Figueiró, adorned with angels and the Virgin of Milk.

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