Category: Religious Architecture > Church
District: Leiria > Bombarral > Famões
Situated in the town of Famões, in the municipality of Bombarral, the Chapel of Our Lady of Purification stands in a large churchyard, a space that provides an unobstructed view of the building. This churchyard, paved and slightly elevated from the street, is marked by an imposing stone cross, inviting a moment of tranquility and observation. The chapel is surrounded by houses, blending into the town's urban landscape.
The history of the Chapel of Our Lady of Purification is long, dating back to traces of a chapel dedicated to Saint Mary as early as 1408. However, its current form began to take shape in the 16th century, an era of great construction fervor. During this period, the influential Gorjão family founded the Chapel of the Holy Spirit inside, which became a space for private devotion. The centuries that followed, especially the 18th, brought new additions and refinements, shaping the aesthetics of the temple we see today.
The chapel features white-plastered façades with subtle finishes in blue friezes that give it a distinct and serene appearance. Its main façade, facing west, features a straight-lintel portal topped by a rose window, through which natural light bathes the interior. To the side, the bell tower, a later addition, rises from the complex, crowned by a rooster-shaped weathervane. On the exterior, one can observe details such as barred windows and protruding volumes that reveal the complexity of its floor plan.
Upon crossing the entrance, we are invited to discover an interior that reveals an overlap of eras and styles. The single nave, with its worked wooden ceiling, guides the eye to the main altar, where an imposing piece of 18th-century gilded woodwork stands out, adorned with Solomonic columns and vegetal motifs. On the right side, the Chapel of the Holy Spirit stands out for its Renaissance portal, lavishly decorated with grotesques and high-relief medallions which, according to tradition, represent its founders. The baptismal chapel area holds a niche with a Latin inscription, "Panis Verus", dated 1557, suggesting its original use as a sacrarium during specific liturgical times. The chapel's floor is enriched with several 16th and 17th-century tombstones, some with still-legible inscriptions, as well as a tomb chest believed to date back to the 14th century, transported to this location in the early 20th century.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 39.249357,-9.1329923
Coordinates DMS: 39°14'57.7"N 09°07'58.8"W
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