Albufeira Churches
If you can tear yourself away from the magnificent beaches in Albufeira in Portugal's Algarve region, there are some interesting churches as well as several museums to see.
See a listing of churches in Albufeira in southern Portugal.
Igreja Matriz (Parish Church)
Igreja Matriz (Parish Church) Nossa Senhora da Conceição is an 18th century, single nave church at the heart of the annual Festa Nossa Senhora da Orada procession celebrated in August. The church's neo-classical interior consists of single nave with a statue of the Virgin Mary. The altarpiece was painted by local artist Samora Barros (1887-1972).
The beautiful Ermida de São Sebastião better known as the Museum of Sacred Art (Museu de Arte Sacra) exhibits religious art collected from surrounding churches that survived the 1755 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit the region.
Igreja Santa Ana
Igreja Santa Ana is dedicated to St. Anne, Jesus' maternal grandmother, with a fine, gilded, wooden altar painted in blue, possibly the work of master sculptors Francisco Xavier Guedelha and João Baptista.
The church has a single nave and three chapels. The baroque high altar (pictured below) has a central statue of St. Anne flanked by St. Joseph and the child Jesus (on the right) and by her husband St. Joachim (on the left).
Ermida de São Sebastião
The beautiful Ermida de São Sebastião better known as the Museum of Sacred Art (Museu de Arte Sacra) exhibits religious art collected from surrounding churches that survived the 1755 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit the region.
Highlights of the collections include a beautiful gilded wooden altar along with images of Francisco Xavier, the famous Jesuit, who was active in Asia and Saint Dominic, the founder of the Dominican Order.
