Monuments

Founded in 1470 and resulting from a vow and the devotion of the king Dom Afonso V, who gave it to the Order of St. Francis, this monastery was frequently improved and enlarged over the centuries, most notably through the building work carried out during the reign of Dom João III.

Still remaining from the original phase of building are the façade and the Gothic doorway, its capitals exuberantly decorated with masks, ivy, bunches of grapes, vines and oak leaves. The base displays decorative elements that are characteristic of the reign of Dom Afonso V.

Inside, the church has just one nave and no transept, the walls are lined with 18th-century tile panels and there are various niches for confessionals, as well as decorative features alluding to the confession. Attention is also drawn to the carved and gilded woodwork of the side altars. The chancel is the church's most opulent space, not only because of its barrel vaulting, whose wooden caissons are filled with paintings, but also as a result of the 18th-century tiles that line the walls, depicting scenes from the life of St. Anthony. In the sacristy, there are two 17th-century painted wooden panels depicting the Miracle of the Mule and Pentecost.

The two-storey Gothic cloister has several features of artistic interest. On the ground floor, the ceiling is decorated with the mill wheel, the emblem of Dom Afonso V, accompanied by the Franciscan cord. In the north wing is a Manueline doorway decorated with large fleurons, leading to the chapel of Jesus, lined with tiles decorated with diamond-tipped motifs. Inside the chapel is the pantheon of the noble family of Soares de Alarcão, who governed Torres Vedras in the 16th and 17th centuries. The chapter house is also very interesting because of its 18th-century tiles decorated with flower vases and its various paintings, most notably the portrait of Frei António das Chagas.

In the monastery itself, attention is drawn to the Chapel of Our Lady of the Oak Tree, opposite the entrance to the church, which was built in 1777. Inside the chapel is a decoration consisting of carved and gilded woodwork, different-coloured marbles and columns whose shafts contain slabs imitating lapis lazuli. In the upper choir are tiles inside purple and yellow frames, depicting scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary until the birth of Christ.