Museu de Aveiro

The Mosteiro de Jesus was a Dominican convent founded in 1458, and its significance comes from one resident: Joana, daughter of Afonso V, who refused marriage offers including from the kings of France and England, entered the convent in 1472 against her father's wishes and lived there until her death in 1490. She was beatified in 1693 and is Aveiro's patron. Her tomb, made in the early eighteenth century by João Antunes, is an extraordinary object - a chest of inlaid marble mosaic in coloured stone, supported by angels, one of the finest pieces of Portuguese baroque sculpture. Around it the church is covered floor to ceiling in gilded woodcarving and azulejos, with a panel cycle of Joana's life, and the cloister, chapter house and choir hold paintings, sculpture and a fifteenth-century portrait of Joana attributed to Nuno Gonçalves.

Highlights

• Joana's tomb - an inlaid coloured marble chest carried by angels, from the 1700s.
• The gilded church - woodcarving and azulejos covering every surface.
• The portrait - a fifteenth-century likeness of Joana attributed to Nuno Gonçalves.
• The convent - cloister, chapter house and choir of a 1458 Dominican house.

When to go

Year-round. One to two hours. Closed Mondays. Aveiro's canals and salt pans are a short walk.

Things to know

Photography is restricted in parts. The church interior is dim. Labelling is largely in Portuguese. It is a religious-art museum, which is a narrower interest than a general collection.

Nearby

Aveiro's canals and moliceiro boats are close; Costa Nova and Ílhavo are west.

Key facts