The Church of Vera Cruz, also known as Church of Vera Cruz de Marmelar, once belonged to the former monastery of the Order of Malta. It was founded at the end of the 13th century by D. Afonso Pires Farinha, who participated in the Seventh Crusade to Jerusalem and brought back the relic of the Holy Wood, still preserved inside the church today.
This small wooden fragment, believed to have belonged to the Cross of Christ and housed in a reliquary, attracts pilgrims and visitors from all over Portugal.
The origins of the Vera Cruz church-monastery are very ancient. The medieval temple was built on the ruins of an old Visigothic monastery, of which the side chapels remain. The church’s current design is the result of renovations carried out between the 16th and 19th centuries.
The building stands out in the landscape with its prominent massing. The church features two conical towers, the north gable reinforced by buttresses, and is entirely whitewashed. On the main façade, there are two symmetrical bell towers and an entrance atrium. On the south façade, a broken-arch portal dates from one of the construction phases.