Church of São Salvador

The Church of São Salvador is a Romanesque church located in the civil parish of Bravães, municipality of Ponte da Barca. 

The date indicated for the foundation of the institution in Bravães was 1080. An 1140/1141 letter between D. Afonso Henriques and Prior Egeas (who was notary) on the transaction for the monastery of Villa Nova de Muia, suggests a level of importance for the monastery. By 28 July 1180, the monastery at Bravães was already autonomous. By the end of the 13th century, following an inscription in the church, prior D. Rodrigo ordered the construction of the northern tower.

The Commandery of Bravães was transferred from the Order of the Knights Templar to the Order of Christ, who remained at the site until the beginning of the 15th century. Of the monastery of Bravães, only the church remains, and was reconstructed completely during the first half of the 13th century.

Around 1500 the mural painting with the depiction of São Salvador was completed. Between 1540 and 1550, other mural paintings were executed, most notably the Martírio de São Sebastião (Martyr of St. Sebastian), and by the end of the last quarter of the 15th century, the probable work on the main chapel and the execution of the pictorial composition of the religious patron and paintings along the nave. A triptych over the main chapel was also added at the beginning of the 16th century, along with grotesque 1535 Romanesque paintings (images similar to that of Nossa Senhora da Azinheira in Outeiro Seco) and other paintings in the nave.

Address
Bravães, Ponte da Barca, Portugal

Established
c. 1080