Igreja do Salvador de Ribas

Church of the Saviour of Ribas

Tradition credits the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine for having founded a small monastery in Ribas. It would be up to D. João Peculiar, archbishop of Braga, to protect the monastery marked by the presence of father D. Mendo, whose body would provide miracles long after his death in 1170, although this has not been proved by documents. We should point out the homogeneity of the Church of Ribas, which must have been built in one go. The decoration shows great consistency in its preference for pearl motif, which appears both inside and outside the Church. Inside, as with most Romanesque churches, another spirit prevails, marked by the counter-reformation and by liturgical renewal following the Council of Trent (1545-1563). Examples of this include the exuberance of the gilding in altarpieces [altars] and valance that crowns and covers the triumphal arch, the sectioned box ceiling and the choir balustrade. Noteworthy from this set are images of the Holy Savior, the Virgin of the Valley and the Virgin of the Rosary. In the backwall of the chancel, behind the altarpiece [altar], a major campaign of mural paintings was identified, where the patron saint of the Church is depicted.