Silves Cathedral - Art and Architecture

Art and Architecture

From the outside, a striking aspect of Silves Cathedral is the contrast between the whitewashed surfaces of the walls and the red sandstone (grés de Silves) of the apse, windows and main portal.

The main portal, executed in the 1470s, is inserted on a stepped rectangular moulding (alfiz), a common feature on the façades of Portuguese mediaeval buildings since the Romanesque era. Other primitive features of the portal are the figurative corbels of the upper cornice of the moulding, representing animal and human faces. The portal consists of a series of four columns and several pointed-arch archivolts. The outer archivolt is decorated with a series of reliefs of vegetal motifs and human figures, some playing musical instruments. The decoration of the capitals of the columns reveals the influence of the Batalha workshop, which was active in the 15th century. Interestingly, the portal of the main church of Portimão, located nearby, is almost a replica of the one in Silves and is believed to have been executed by the same artisans. The South portal is a Baroque addition (18th century).

Silves Cathedral is a Latin cross church with a three-aisled nave, transept and three chapels in the east end. The east side of the church with transept was built earlier (mid-15th century) than the nave (probably early 16th century). The eastern chapels and transept are covered by Gothic stone rib vaulting, while the nave aisles are covered by a simple wooden roof. It is likely that the original plan called for the whole church to be covered by stone vaulting like other Portuguese cathedrals built at the time, like the Cathedral of Guarda. The aisles of the nave are separated by arches of pointed profile supported by columns of octagonal cross section. The south transept arm is illuminated by a large mullioned window with Gothic tracery.