The Church of Cabeça Santa dates back to the first half of the 13th century and is an excellent example of Portuguese Romanesque architecture.
The constant displacement of artisans [masons, sculptures, carpenters] in medieval times promoted the repetition of constructive and ornamental models in several territories.
The portals and sculptures in the capitals of Cabeça Santa are very similar to those in the Church of Saint Martin of Cedofeita in Porto, which is decorated in a very similar way to the Romanesque Cathedral of Porto and other examples of the Romanesque style in the region of Coimbra.
The main portal presents a tympanum with heads of cows, built to symbolically protect the entrance to the Church. A representation of a street performer [acrobat] stands out in the south portal for its originality.
The artistic set of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, from the Modern Era [17th-18th centuries], deserves special attention.
Inside the Church are the remains of three graves excavated in the stone and three medieval tombs.
Location: Penafiel
