Museu de Aveiro / Santa Joana

The Museu de Aveiro occupies the former Convento de Jesus, a Dominican convent founded in 1458 that became the home of Princess Joana, daughter of King Afonso V, who took her vows here in the fifteenth century. Its church, cloisters and dormitories form one of the most atmospheric museum settings in central Portugal.

A convent museum

The museum was installed in the Convento de Jesus in 1911, after the convent was dissolved. The visit has two parts: the monumental circuit through the church, cloister and convent rooms, and the permanent exhibition, which gathers painting, sculpture, gilded woodwork, azulejo and goldsmithery from the region.

What to see

• The tomb of Princess Santa Joana, a masterpiece of Portuguese late Gothic sculpture.
• The church of Jesus, with its gilded altarpieces and azulejo decoration.
• The cloister and the convent’s silent dormitories and refectory.
• Painting, sculpture and religious treasures from the Aveiro region.

Visiting the museum

The museum is at Avenida de Santa Joana, 3810-329 Aveiro. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 18:00, and is closed on Mondays. Conservation work is under way in parts of the historic building, but the museum remains open to the public.

Visitor information: museusdeaveiro.cm-aveiro.pt.

Image credit: Museu de Aveiro / Santa Joana, by Duca696, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.