Igreja do Salvador de Lufrei

Church of the Saviour of Lufrei

The temple of Lufrei, located in a valley near the confluence of two small water creeks, was once the seat of a small female monastic institute of which no traces remain. The Church, secularized in 1455, integrates the so-called “românico de resistência” [resistance Romanesque], witness of the vernacularity and popularity that such style had among rural communities in northern Portugal. Without any carved decoration, the Church is lit by narrow crevices positioned at key points of the building. The quadrangular corbels and the arrangement of the portals attest for its late execution. The interior was radically changed in Modern Age. The altarpiece [main altar] of Mannerist nature stands out, where paintings, "painted old style" are found preserved, as described in 1726 by the memoirist Craesbeeck. Also the two altarpieces [altars] of the nave feature traits from this period.  However, what most arouses our curiosity are mural paintings hidden under the bed of plaster that covers the entire Church, though some traces are already visible both in the chancel and in the nave.