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Church of São Francisco

The church of São Francisco is the great Gothic church of Porto. The Franciscans received the land in 1233 and the present building was erected between 1383 and 1410, with a Gothic rose window and a Baroque doorway added in the 17th century. After the abolition of the religious orders in 1834, it served as a customs warehouse until 1839. From the outside it looks austere, but in the 17th and 18th centuries the interior was covered almost entirely in Baroque gilded woodcarving, which earned it the nickname "church of gold". The altarpiece of the Tree of Jesse, the work of Filipe da Silva and António Gomes and finished around 1721, stands out. The visit also includes a museum of sacred art, set up in the former Casa do Despacho, and the catacomb cemetery, where the remains can be seen through a glass panel in the floor. It is in the Ribeira district, right next to the Palácio da Bolsa. It has been a National Monument since 1910 and is part of the historic centre declared a World Heritage Site in 1996.

Things to do at Church of São Francisco: 3 missions

• Look at the Gothic rose window and the Baroque doorwayFrom the street, look at the façade and tell the Gothic rose window from the 17th-century Baroque doorway added later.
• Go down to the catacombs and look at the ossuaryWalk through the catacomb cemetery and look for the area where the bones can be seen through a glass panel in the floor.
• Find the altarpiece of the Tree of JesseGo into the nave and find the altarpiece in the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, where gilded carving depicts the family tree of Jesus. Notice how the figures spring from the branches.

Near Church of São Francisco

Source: Web oficial - Visit Porto