Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¼´Ê±¿ª½±

Igreja de São Lourenço de Matos

Top choice in The Algarve


This baroque masterpiece was built on the site of a ruined chapel after locals, while digging a well, implored Saint Lawrence for help and then struck water. Constructed by brothers Antão and Manuel Borges, it's smothered in azulejos (hand-painted tiles) – even the ceiling – depicting the saint's life and death. In the 1755 earthquake, only five tiles fell from the roof.

It's 9km south of Loulé; buses (€2.35, 15 minutes, up to two per hour) stop 2.5km west in Almancil's centre.


Contact

Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¼´Ê±¿ª½±'s must-see attractions

Nearby The Algarve attractions

1. Museu Municipal

4.04 MILES

Loulé's restored castle is the setting for its municipal museum. The archaeology section's homo erectus kicks things off, and via dusty collections of…

2. Nossa Senhora da Conceição

4.05 MILES

Situated opposite Loulé's castle, the mid-17th century chapel of Nossa Senhora da Conceição possesses three impressive elements: a heavily gilded baroque…

3. Praia de Faro

5.16 MILES

On the Ilha de Faro, 9km west of the centre, the town's beach has sweeping sand, windsurfing and kitesurfing operators, and a handful of cafes. It's…

4. Milreu Ruins

5.86 MILES

Situated 900m west of Estói, these Roman villa ruins are so large and grand they were originally thought to have been a town. The villa, inhabited from…

6. Igreja de São Pedro

5.99 MILES

While the exterior of this 16th-century church is unassuming, the tri-nave interior has magnificent 18th-century azulejos and intricately carved woodwork,…

7. Centro Histórico Judaico de Faro

6.02 MILES

The last vestiges of the first post-Inquisition Jewish presence in Portugal are found at this small Jewish cemetery. In use between 1838 and 1932, and…

8. Igreja da Misericórdia

6.18 MILES

The 16th-century Igreja da Misericórdia, opposite the Arco da Vila, was originally built in Manueline (Portuguese late Gothic) style but is now nearly all…