San Francisco Convent Ruins

A shame to let a building of high historical importance arrive in that state ... That is more ruins than a monument ...

No admission for the public so little is visible outside

The most beautiful monument in the municipality of Portimão.

The San Francisco Convent is now a ruin. It used to be a nunnery. It is regrettable that this building could not be preserved, probably for financial reasons. Unfortunately, it is now subject to continuous decline.

The Convent of São Francisco (or Convent of Nossa Senhora da Esperança[) is an ancient Franciscan convent of the 16th century, in Manueline and Mannerist style, located next to the River Arade, in the city of Portimão, district of Faro, in Portugal, and which it is currently in an advanced state of degradation. Founded in 1530 by Simão Correia, captain of Azamor and an important figure in the Algarve in the 16th century, the convent was born from a donation of houses made to the Observant Friars of the Franciscan Province of Portugal. However, the early life of this religious institution is unknown, since the establishment of the friars only took place in 1541 due to some divergences within the peninsular Franciscans. However, records from the parish archives from 1734 allow us to conclude that the construction work on the convent began shortly after its foundation. In those same records it is mentioned that, when the first friars arrived at the place, they found the church already built; on the other hand, over the main entrance of the building there was a coat of arms with the coat of arms of Simão Correia, a fact that proves the personal commitment of the founder himself in the construction of the convent complex. The 1755 earthquake witnessed the first major moment of the building's destruction, with the collapse of the vault of the church and of numerous convent buildings, which led to the temporary transfer of the religious community to the Igreja do Corpo Santo. Later, soon after the extinction of the religious orders, the convent began to have several non-religious functions, all of which contributed to its slow destruction. The Convent of São Francisco (or Convent of Nossa Senhora da Esperança) is classified as a 'Property of Public Interest' by IGESPAR (Institute for the Management of Architectural and Archaeological Heritage).