I have two posts from Guimarães, the first describing the Castle and Ducal Palace and this second showing a few photos of the old town of Guimarães. Tore and I visited it a lovely day in October last year. I start with the centre of the medieval town, Largo da Oliviera.
In front of the church is the Padrão do Salado, a 14th century shrine housing a cross. An oil lamp was put up in the square at the 14th C and an olive tree was transplanted to the square to supply the oil lamp with oil, but the tree withered. In 1342, a cross was placed upon the square at the shrine, whereupon the tree flourished. All according to old legends, but the olive tree grew until it was replaced in the 18th C.
From the square we wondered around the medieval city with its quaint paved lanes and old pastel coloured houses, many of them covered in Azulejos.
A little bit further north from Largo da Oliveira we found Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo. The church was constructed in 1685. The main altar of the church was dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Carmo, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which is the name for the Virgin Mary as patroness of the Carmelite Order and that gives this Baroque church its name. Next to it is Lar de Santa Estefania, which is a religious and social institution dedicated to providing care and housing for children. It is housed in what formerly was the Convent of the Carmelites (Convento do Carmo).
