The November “Entail of the Month” presents the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Guadalupe, established in 1679 by Domingos Cardoso da Fonseca in Aldeia de Cima (Armamar). The document instituting this bond is noteworthy for containing a detailed description of the chapel and the adjoining manor house, where the latest “morgado” resided. As regards the chapel, the document not only informs us that it was never totally finished while also reflecting the relevance of the integrated and mobile heritage it housed, in particular the altarpiece, with its columns and tabernacle, and a set of eight large images, about four palms high and naturally as well as the numerous liturgical implements and vestments. The chapel remained in use until the end of the 20th century. However, the manor house was destroyed in a blaze on 8 December 1999, which, among many other heritage items, destroyed its archives. It was, however, subject to a complete restoration and transformed into a local accommodation unit. Such intervention work has been extended and remains ongoing with restoration work on the chapel taking place this year. In the heart of the Douro valley, Casa da Capela de Cima still retains the memory of its founder.

To find out more details about this entail, go to this page with all the Entails of the Month information. Here, you may also find out about the other entails made available in the meantime, at: https://www.vinculum.fcsh.unl.pt/entail-of-the-month

You can also contribute to this initiative by making suggestions for future entails of the month and any details you may be able to provide. To do this, please contact the project at the following email address vinculum@fcsh.unl.pt.

The VINCULUM project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) and led by Maria de Lurdes Rosa, Professor of NOVA FCSH and researcher at the Institute of Medieval Studies, awarded the first ERC Consolidator Grant to a Portuguese researcher in the field of History.