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Wise Pilgrim APPSantarém boasts an incredible number of Gothic churches, no small feat given that it has been struck by multiple earthquakes and a Napoleonic invasion. The best architectural examples (not all Gothic) are the Sé Catedral, the Convento de São Francisco, the Igreja do Santissimo Milagre (itself a pilgrimage destination), the Torre das Cabaças (with the Time Museum), the Igreja de São João de Alporão (with an eccentric and empty tomb for the lost-in-battle Duarte de Meneses), and lastly the Porta do Sol and old Castle of Santarém which is now a city garden and the doorway out of the city along the camino.
São José is celebrated on the 19th of March.
Santarém, the Capital of the Portuguese Gothic, has been a favored city by rulers since Julius Caesar set up a military camp here in 61 AD.
The exit to town can be difficult to find via arrows and it is best to make your way to the Porta do Sol gardens that are part of the old Moorish castle.
As you approach the gardens, there is a small flight of steps on your left-hand side. Turn down those to a small square and the Puerta de Santiago is on your left. Pass through it and pick up a dirt trail that takes you around the old city walls and down to the village of Ribeira de Santarém.
