Former monastery of Nossa Senhora da Piedade

As a monastic building, the monastery of of Nossa Senhora da Piedade was the largest in the Algarve and the only Cistercian order monastery in southern Portugal. It was founded in 1509 at the initiative of King Manuel I, in thanksgiving for the lifting of a Moorish siege on Arzila. In 1530, when the building was practically finished, and designed in keeping with the Manueline artistic style, it was given to nuns of the Cistercian order, who remained there until the 19th century.

The north elevation has a Gothic-Manueline portal which has a round arch and two archivolts resting on columns with star-shaped bases, cylindrical shafts and capitals decorated with floral motif elements. As was customary in convents for nuns, the public door of the old church is located on the side façade, in keeping with the decorum and strict discipline of the cloister. The faithful moving towards the altar would be obliged to avoid eye contact with the nuns in the choir at the back of the temple.

Freguesia: Tavira