What to visit
Patrimony
Monastery of São João de Tarouca
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Description
To dive deep into the culture and history of Tarouca, the first step is to visit the Monastery of São João de Tarouca, where history is written in the stones of the oldest Cistercian foundation in Portugal.
Closely linked to the beginning of nationality, it was here that the first Cistercian monks settled in 1140, and it was D. Afonso Henriques who passed a charter to this community observing the rule of St. Benedict.
Throughout the Lower Middle Ages, this was one of the most important national monarchical establishments.
In the Monastery, Pedro Afonso, Count of Barcelos, bastard son of King Dinis, is buried in a monumental granite tomb decorated with hunting scenes on the facial features, a characteristic theme of a landed nobility in search of social prestige and legitimization.
Here, you can wander among the ruins of the old monastery and, in the church, observe the beautiful tile panels from the early 18th century that illustrate the history of the foundation of the monastery.
