Sao Francisco

The land that the Palacio Bolsa was constructed on was donated by Queen Marie and the pillars of the convent that stood on the site were reused in the construction of the main trading space. Next to the Bolsa and under the shroud of renovation, is this renaissance church of the Franciscan brothers. Most of what you see in the church dates from the 1500s and they were working on restoration of the main alter. Other carved and gold coloured woodwork is needing restoration as well but it is a huge task and one is glad they charge €9 per person to go in with the hope that they will be able to preserve and restore this. The attached hall which has a white painted ceiling and large mural was built in the 19th century has been fully restored and is striking in that it all looks so new, including the costuming of the porcelain religious figures that accompany all these churches. Upstairs were interesting exhibits with engravings verifying the status of Franciscan brothers that wished to join the Third Order in Porto. In the lowest level (basement) is the cemetery Catacombs and Ossuary) for the monks who wished to be buried there (the burying of people below the church was banned by the city in 1866). It is a very tidy space with wood covers with numbers on the burial spots between constructed stones. There was music playing throughout the space church and space which softened the unsettled feeling that Nancy had going through these old churches.Read more