On Arouca’s main avenue, the Monastery of Santa Maria de Arouca stands sumptuously, in perfect communion with the square called Praça Brandão de Vasconcelos, on the other side of the street, and with the Chapel of Misericórdia, facing it. It is considered the largest granite construction of its kind in Portugal, and its walls have a lot to tell us.

Originally built in the 10th century, this building has undergone profound transformations. Thus, the structure we see today is the result of changes made throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.