Monuments

In 1321, the Igreja de Santiago and the nearby Igreja de Santa Maria were the two parish churches of Marvão. They both belonged to the Order of the Hospital, which in religious terms was dependent on the Priorate of Crato. Later, they were joined together to form just one parish, Santa Maria, which has remained the case until today.

The church´s structure and decoration still preserve the features that were typical of the regional Gothic style, with sober lines and forms, marked by the contrast of the granite with the white of the masonry.

Inside, the church has three naves, with a particularly impressive wooden ceiling composed of caissons that form a harmonious chequered pattern, referred to by the name of masseira (kneading-trough). On the left, there is a Gothic chapel, with ribbed vaulting, embellished by an 18th-century baroque altar of carved wood. On the right is another baroque chapel, decorated with Estremoz marble and 17th and 18th-century azulejos.

Although it has a fairly simple form, the architecture and decoration of this building provide us with interesting examples of the different styles occurring at various periods between the 14th and 18th centuries, showing how these accompanied the town´s development.