Tours by J

I’ve lived in Braga for quite some time and you know when things are next to you so when you consider something you never saw in your city you consider ‘maybe later, I have time to see it’.

It’s a human thing: we tend to avoid exploring and consuming cultural events in our own place and we travel to visit places that are far from us. It’s common when a person visits a place and asks a local ‘have you seen your local museum/theatre/etc?’ and locals say things like ‘nah, never been there’, ‘what’s so special about it’ or ‘it’s not even worth a visit’

And in Portugal this is even more relevant because sometimes we only look at the importance of a certain monument, natural area, etc, when a foreigner tells us that thing is special (it’s a cultural thing going on for centuries in my country, we even study that in History classes 😂)

Well, this said, even though I am aware of this sociological point, when I lived in Braga I was always delaying seeing this chapel, though the first time I read about it it said the building needed restoration.

Well, this year I finally stopped to have a look and I have to say Saint Martha really looks quite the Penitent. Poor thing is screaming for a restoration. Not just the image, the altar itself! Hope it gets it soon!

Today is the last day of Burgo Medieval, a medieval fair close by Pombeiro monastery, in Felgueiras. The monastery was from the Benedictine order, so you can see people dressed up as the monks or as the Sousa family, that created the Romanesque style in Portugal when it was still a county (this monastery for instance was created in 1102).

If you are at Porto or close by you can still go to the fair, it will end around 11pm. If you can’t join the fair, at least I recommend you visit the monastery. The monument itself is amazing, ginormous actually, and close by (not even 5 min walking) you have a preserved Roman road (that connected Portuscale with Bracara Augusta - Porto with Braga).

Only more reasons to visit the North of Portugal!