Category: Religious Architecture > Church
District: Vila Real > Valpaços > Vilarandelo
Situated in the heart of the village of Vilarandelo, in the municipality of Valpaços, this parish church is set in a typical rural environment. Its churchyard, adapted to the sloping terrain and walled, invites a moment of contemplation, being partially surrounded by dwellings and with its main facade facing more open landscapes of vegetable gardens. Visitors will find here a tranquil space to appreciate the surroundings and the built heritage.
Around the church, a Via Sacra can be found, composed of fourteen crosses forming a Calvary, adding a dimension of devotional and scenic pathway to the site. These crosses, some dating from the 18th century, complement the visiting experience, inviting a calm stroll through the temple's surroundings.
The Church of São Vicente de Vilarandelo is a notable testament to religious architecture spanning the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, combining 16th-century, 17th-century, and Baroque elements. Recognized as a Property of Public Interest, this solid granite ashlar construction reveals stylistic evolution over time, maintaining its original function as a center of worship for the community.
Evidence of its initial construction, likely in the 16th and 17th centuries, is visible in the portals and triumphal arch, with their wide moldings and voussoirs. The church even withstood the 1755 earthquake, attesting to the robustness of its construction and its lasting importance to the parish of Vilarandelo.
The church's main facade, facing west, stands out for its truncated gable where a double bell tower rises. This is a common architectural feature in the Vila Real region, enriched by lateral pillars with chamfers, a central element decorated with a finial and a gargoyle, and a base adorned with volutes, finials, and the symbol of the sun. The bell tower is further crowned by the distinctive Maltese Cross, a symbolic element that harks back to the church's past as a vicarage of the Order of Malta.
The main portal, a perfect arch with wide voussoirs, invites entry, while a circular, molded, and grilled oculus above it ensures illumination. On the lateral facades, cross doors and splayed windows, built in the same style, lend uniformity to the ensemble, highlighting the care in the details of the granite ashlar.
Upon crossing the portal, visitors are enveloped by an environment of great artistic richness. The church nave, with a longitudinal plan, is clad on its side walls with magnificent gilded and polychrome carved wood panels in the Joanine style, creating a vibrant setting that defines the presbytery. These panels are decorated with scrolled acanthus leaves, cartouches, shell motifs, and phytomorphic elements, also incorporating a rectangular basin pulpit with a carved balustrade.
Inside, one can also observe a wooden choir loft resting on Tuscan columns and a circular basin baptismal font, with 17th-century decoration, demonstrating the continuity of religious life at the site throughout the centuries. The lateral and collateral altarpieces, although in the National style, already show the transition to the Joanine style, revealing a decorative harmonization that enriches every corner of the space.
The chancel of the Church of São Vicente is one of the most significant points of its interior. Its main altarpiece, in polychrome and gilded carved wood in the National style, stands out for its grandeur, with four twisted columns ornamented with vine leaves and birds, and an exhibition throne at the center. This altarpiece also integrates two painted panels depicting Saints, which date from the 17th century and originated from an old Mannerist altarpiece, reused in a later adaptation.
The side walls of the chancel are enriched by mural paintings, dated 1731, depicting scenes from the Stations of the Passion of Christ. Although they have undergone repainting over time, these representations in two registers offer a valuable perspective on the devotion and Baroque art of the period. The chancel ceiling, with octagonal paneling and a glazed lantern, complements the illumination and solemn atmosphere of the space.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 41.663847,-7.323581
Coordinates DMS: 41°39'49.8"N 07°19'24.9"W
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