MUSEO DE ALBERTO SAMPAIO (ALBERTO SAMPAIO MUSEUM)
The Museu de Alberto Sampaio created in 1928 to house the
collections of the extinct collegiate church Colegiada de Nossa Senhora da
Oliveira and of other churches and convents in the Guimaraes region , then in
the hands of the State, is located in the heart of the Historic Centre, in the
exact location where, in the 10th century, Countess Mumadona orders
the creation of the monastery around which the Vimaranense bourg would later
expand.
In view of the fact that it occupies the space that belonged to the
Collegiae Church, it is of great and artistic value, as evidenced by the
cloister and medieval rooms that surround it, the former Priority House and the
House of Canons. Its important sculpture collections (architectural,
freestanding and tombstones) include medieval and renaissance periods and
beyong up to the 18th century.
From its jewellery collection, one of
the best in the country, the highlight goes to D.Sancho I’s roman chalice, the
image of Santa Maria de Guimaraes (13th century), the processional
crosses and the magnificent Gothic retable of glided silver, from the end of
the 14th century.
Other also worthy of being highlighted are the
vest that D.Joao I wore during the Battle of Aljubarrota,the 16th
century fresco representing the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, the
collection of paintings from the 16th to the 18th centuries, the
Manueline and Baroque woodcarvings , the embroidered vestments , the azulejaria
(Tiles ) and faience.
