The Church of the Monastery of Saint Peter of Ferreira is one of the most expressive Portuguese Romanesque monuments.
At the end of the 12th century, the clergymen of the episcopal Cathedral of Porto held the rights to a portion of the Monastery, the remaining parts belonging to a few noble families, such as the Sousas [or Sousões] and the Maias.
The main portal is embedded in the pentagonal body. Its pierced archivolts [circular combs] have been compared to both those on the Gate of the Bishop of the Cathedral of Zamora, the Church of Saint Martin of Salamanca, and decorative Arabic art in Seville from the second half of the 12th century.
The Church of Ferreira gathers façades and sculptural motifs from several geographic origins and stonemasons' workshops: Zamora-Compostela, Coimbra-Porto and Braga-Unhão. One such motif is the representation of minstrels [artists] in one of the capitals of the chancel.
Annexed to the main façade is the ruin of a funerary galilee, of which very few examples are left in Portugal.
Two burial pieces remain in the Monastery: a tomb and its tombstone with a statue of nobleman João Vasques da Granja laying down, dressed as a pilgrim and holding a staff.
Location: Paços de Ferreira
