Monuments

Igreja de Santiago Maior, Parish Church of Adeganha
Dedicated to Santiago Maior (St. James the Greater), the parish church of Adeganha is a fine example of mediaeval architecture from the north-eastern region of Trás-os-Montes. Built in the 13th century, it is a late Romanesque church in which the pointed arches in the doorway and niches of the church´s exterior represent the main structural feature that marks the transition to the Gothic period.

On the outside, notice the variety of geometrical patterns, used to decorate the arches (spheres, stars, chequered patterns), and the animal motifs of the upper frieze, known as "cachorrada" (pigs, birds and bulls, amongst other animals). Attention is also drawn to the three low-relief pictures depicting different figures: the first one represents two women helping a third one to give birth, the second one shows us someone with a cloth and a jug, who is probably helping in the delivery of the baby, whilst the third one depicts the young mother resting with her child by her side. These are scenes from everyday life that have been made sacred through the symbolic importance of the place, in an ingenuous interpretation of the message of the Nativity.

The existence of so many decorative features in this church bears witness to a time of prolonged peace in this region of the Portuguese territory throughout the period of the church´s construction, thereby reducing the initial defensive function of the Romanesque style.

Inside the church, we can see 15th-century mural paintings depicting the "Three Wise Men", the "Presentation of the Baby Jesus at the Temple" and the "Crucifixion". On the high altar is a baroque retable which includes a 16th-century wood painting with the image of Santiago Maior (St. James the Greater).