Little sanctuaries

Places of pilgrimage and veneration, chapels and hermitages in the Algarve attract the attention of the faithful and lovers of religious architecture.

In Alcoutim, there is the Hermitage of the Immaculate Conception which is also the Museum of Sacred Art.

Originally a mediaeval structure, the Hermitage of St Ann  in Tavira was renovated in the 18^th Century and decorated with a baroque altarpiece. The Hermitage of Holy Christ in Moncarapacho, Olhão, has a fine Mannerist altarpiece and a collection of polychrome tiles dating back to the 17^th Century.

The Chapel of São Lourenço dos Matos built in the 18^th Century in Almancil is the best example of Algarvian baroque tile work.  In Loulé, the Hermitage of Our Lady of the Pieta, also called Sovereign Mother is an architecturally simple building, but with a fine stylised altarpiece.

The polychrome tiles which clad the walls and the baroque altar with the image of the Patron of the Chapel are the main attraction of the Hermitage of Nossa Senhora de Guia in Albufeira.

The parish of Raposeira in Vila do Bispo has the oldest chapel in the Algarve, the Hermitage of Our Lady of Guadalupe with a decorated vaulted ceiling.