Capela de Sao Frutuoso de Montelios description and photos - Portugal: Braga (Topic)

Capela de Sao Frutuoso de Montelios description and photos - Portugal: Braga. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Capela de Sao Frutuoso de Montelios.

Photo and description

The Chapel of San Frutuosu is located in the Real area of Braga. This pre-Romanesque chapel is part of an ensemble of religious buildings, which also includes the Royal Church.

The original chapel building was built in the 7th century by the Visigoths in the form of a Greek cross. The chapel is also known as the Chapel of San Frutuosu di Muntelius or the Chapel of San Salvador di Muntelius. Since 1944, the chapel has been classified as a National Monument in Portugal.

Based on documentary sources, in 560 A.D. on the site of the chapel there was a small Roman villa and a temple dedicated to Asclepius, the ancient Greek god of healing and medicine. In 656 Fructuosus, a Christian saint who later became Bishop of Brakara, founded on this place the monastery of St. Salvador and ordered the construction of a chapel, in which he bequeathed to bury himself. In the 9th-10th centuries, reconstruction works were carried out. In 1523, Archbishop Diego de Sousa founded the Franciscan monastery of the Capuchins near the Chapel of San Frutuosu, and there is reason to believe that he destroyed the ancient monastery of San Salvador. In 1728, the reconstruction of the Church of the Convent of San Francisco and the Chapel of San Frutuosu began, which was attached to the church. After reconstruction and many reconstructions, it became possible to get into the chapel only from the church itself.

In 1931, the restoration of the original appearance of the chapel, as it was in the 7th century, began. The Chapel is a unique example of Visigoth buildings in Portugal. The masonry of the walls is made in the form of round arches, which are supported by large columns. The columns are decorated with a wide, decorated border. The interior of the chapel is divided by a triple arch in the form of a horseshoe. The spherical dome is covered with plaster and painted in white. Coats of arms are carved on the granite slabs of the chapel floor.

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Topic: Capela de Sao Frutuoso de Montelios description and photos - Portugal: Braga.