Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

The Mother Church of Vila Viçosa is dedicated to Our Lady of the Conception, the patron saint of Portugal, a devotion with deep roots in the House of Braganza. King João IV, upon restoring Portuguese independence in 1640, solemnly confirmed Our Lady of the Conception as Queen of Portugal, and from then on, no monarch ever wore the royal crown again, considering it the exclusive property of the patroness.

The baroque facade of the Mother Church rises with a majestic presence inside the Vila Viçosa Castle. The interior reveals the town's most characteristic feature: the white and pink marble from local quarries, which here covers the floor, lines the altars, and frames the 18th-century azulejo panels.

The Vila Viçosa quarries, operated since Roman times, have provided marble for some of the most important buildings in Portugal and the world, including the altars of the Jerónimos Monastery and parts of the National Palace of Queluz. To step inside this church is to understand why the stone from this region traveled so far.