Igreja paroquial de Santa Maria, Catholic church building in Tavira, Portugal
Igreja paroquial de Santa Maria is a Gothic and Manueline stone church in the heart of Tavira. Inside, visitors see high ceilings, carved wooden altars, painted walls, and stained glass windows that soften the daylight.
The church was begun in the 1200s after the town was taken from the Moors, led by the Order of Santiago under D. Paio Peres Correia. After the 1755 earthquake damaged the structure, it was rebuilt around 1790 by architect Francisco Xavier Fabri.
The church sits inside what was once the walled medina, and local families still gather here for baptisms and feast‑day processions. The tiled panels near the side chapels show scenes of saints that many older residents point out to visitors.
Enter from the main square, where the church stands beside the castle walls, and take time to let your eyes adjust to the dim interior. For a wide view over the rooftops and the Gilão River, climb the narrow stone steps of the bell tower.
In 1718, workers opened a tomb inside and found a body with a curved sword called an alfange, then closed it again without taking the object. The sword is still buried somewhere under the church floor, and its exact location remains unknown.
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