Monastery of Rates

Igreja de São Pedro de Rates is a Romanesque church with three naves, five bays, and a transept where pillars and window openings appear offset and uneven. The interior layout reflects how builders adapted their work over time and adjusted the design to the site conditions.

Construction began around 1096 when Count Henry of Portugal funded the rebuilding and brought monks from a French monastery to settle there. The building replaced an earlier religious site and served as an important center for the surrounding area.

The main entrance displays a rose window showing Christ as the all-powerful judge, while the carved archways feature apostles, angels, and mythical beings. These decorations tell biblical stories through stone and reflect the way people once understood their faith through images.

The church sits in the village of Rates and welcomes visitors during regular hours as a protected national monument. Access is straightforward, and you can walk through the interior to examine the stone carvings and architectural details at your own pace.

Excavations at the site uncovered evidence of construction spanning from Roman times through medieval changes. This layered history beneath the surface reveals how different peoples occupied and reshaped the ground over centuries.