Portugal Church Capela das Almas, Porto

The Capela das Almas (in English: Chapel of the Souls) is located on the north side of the pedestrian street Rua da Santa Catarina. The vibrant blue and white ceramic tiles that adorn the entire exterior walls make the church very special. The building from the 18th century is dedicated to Saint Catarina and so the tile pictures show scenes from her life, among other things.

The chapel is often referred to as the most beautiful in Portugal. The reason for this is not because of their size. It is above all the elaborate blue tiles of the church that can often be seen in the cityscape of Porto.

However, it is usually only individual strips and facade parts that are designed in this way. In the case of the Almas chapel, however, it is the entire facade. There are 15,947 of them in total, all of which tell wonderful stories.

Called azuleios in Portuguese, they depict scenes of various saints. The most common are scenes from the life and death of Francis of Assisi and the Virgin Catherine. This unique building was dedicated to Nossa Senhora das Almas. Translated, this means our dear lady of souls.

Although the church was built in the 18th century, these elaborate wall tiles were added much later, in 1929. It was the artist Eduardo Leite who accomplished this feat and painted the tiles in the original 18th century style.

It is always well attended, you should be there very early so you have the beautiful wall for yourself.

Capela das Almas is located in the center of Porto and therefore best reachable by public transport.