Church of Santa Cruz

Category: Religious Architecture > Church

District: Beja > Almodôvar > Santa Cruz

Location:

The Church of Santa Cruz is located in the town of Santa Cruz, in the municipality of Almodôvar, in the Lower Alentejo. It stands in a serene and isolated valley, surrounded by vast agricultural lands, which gives the place a peaceful atmosphere and an intimate connection with the Alentejo countryside.

The Building and Its History:

Built in the early 16th century, the Church of Santa Cruz is a remarkable example of religious architecture that combines elements of the Manueline style with older Gothic features. Its main facade is marked by a round-arched portal, enriched by three archivolts with twisted columns and capitals detailed with naturalistic motifs.

On the exterior, the chancel is distinguished by its stepped buttresses, topped by chamfered merlons, characteristic of Manueline aesthetics. Although it currently has only one quadrangular bell tower, the church originally had two, one of which was destroyed during the 18th century. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the building underwent interventions that resulted, for example, in the completion of the current tower and the construction of the sacristy.

Artistic and Symbolic Treasures:

The interior of the church, with its three naves, offers an artistic collection of great value. The central nave has a wooden barrel vault ceiling, while the chancel is crowned by a star vault, giving it a particular grandeur. One of the highlights of the visit are the mural paintings and Renaissance sgraffiti present in the chancel, showing a high quality of design.

In one of the side chapels, the 17th-century panels depicting biblical episodes such as the "Flagellation of Christ" deserve special attention. In the vault of this same chapel, a rare representation of "Christ in the Garden" stands out, where the iconography of hematidrosis, a condition in which sweat transforms into blood, is visible. The pilasters and the intrados of the arches are decorated with black and white sgraffiti, displaying vegetal ornaments and grotesques.

The church's historical connection to important figures and orders is evident. In the chancel, one can observe the quartered coat of arms of Dona Violante Henriques, patroness of the construction in the 16th century. The link to the Order of Santiago is also visible in various elements, such as the cross on the main facade, the order's emblem on the sacristy lavabo (dated 1681), and the combination of the cross with scallops on the keystones of the chancel vault.

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