Basílica Real de Castro Verde

The Basílica Real de Castro Verde, in the lower Alentejo, was raised in the sixteenth century in memory of the Battle of Ourique: the royal basilica, ordered by King Sebastian on the plain where the battle was fought, is the great monument of the town and one of the jewels of the religious architecture of the Alentejo.

The basilica

The church was built in the age of King Sebastian, in the second half of the sixteenth century, to honour the memory of the Battle of Ourique — the victory of Afonso Henriques in 1139, on the fields of the region. Its interior keeps altars of gilded carving, paintings and tiles that tell the story of the battle and of the devotion of the town; the basilica is, to this day, the heart of the religious life and of the festivals of Castro Verde.

What to see

• The altars of gilded carving of the basilica.
• The tiles and paintings of the Battle of Ourique.
• The historic centre of Castro Verde around the basilica.
• The plains of the Campo Branco, the country of the battle.

Visiting

Castro Verde lies in the lower Alentejo, between Beja and the Algarve, and the basilica is in the centre of the town; the conditions and times of the visit follow the official information of the parish and of the municipality, and the town receives its great festivals through the year.

Nearby

The town of Castro Verde and the city of Beja are the great neighbours of the basilica.

Information: cm-castroverde.pt.

Image credit: The Basílica Real de Castro Verde, by Tagido, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.