The portal facade was built in two construction phases. Between 1507 and 1513 the two mighty towers were built. The portal was designed by the master builder Diego de Castillo and executed between 1522 and 1526 by Nicolas de Chantereine. Above the semicircular arch of the portal sit two angels blowing trumpets and holding the coat of arms of the Portuguese kings. Above, three niches are arranged in which King David with his harp, Mary and a prophet are standing. To the side, standing on pedestals and each separated by a column, are the Fathers of the Church, Gregory the Great and Ambrose of Milan on the left, Jerome and Augustine on the right.
The church was built on the foundations of the previous Romanesque building. Chapels adjoin the single-nave nave on both sides. The wide nave is divided into four bays and is spanned by a net vault with magnificent keystones. The pulpit was created in 1522 by Nicolas de Chantereine. The pulpit basket is richly decorated with small scenes in the Renaissance style.
In 1530, the remains of the two kings, Alfonso I and Sancho I, were transferred to the newly created tombs. The late Gothic tombs, which face each other on the long walls of the choir, are of similar design. They reach twelve meters high to below the vault and feature up to 50 figures each. Embedded in a niche, the dead person lies dressed in his armor on a sarcophagus, above which stand apostles, evangelists and other saints.
Die Orgel mit dem Register einer Spanischen Trompete ist als Schwalbennestorgel eingebaut. Die um 1530 von Heitor Lobo geschaffene Orgel wurde in den Jahren 1719 bis 1724 von dem vermutlich aus der spanischen Stadt Valladolid stammenden Orgelbauer Manuel Benito Gómez de Herrera erweitert.
Nature & Culture 