Chapel of São Pedro de Balsemão

Classification: MN - National Monument.
 
The chapel of São Pedro de Balsemão is a monument of great scientific importance, because its chronology and original form is a matter of great controversy. In the last hundred years, historians have been divided by two chronologically conflicting ideas: the Visigoth era (6^th and 7^th centuries) and the expansion of the kingdom of Asturias (9^th and 10^th centuries). To date, it has not been possible to confirm either thesis.
 
The building of the chapel took place in a yet undetermined time in the High Middle Ages, and was subject to profound alterations over the centuries that followed. In the 14^th century, the Bishop of Porto, D. Afonso Pires, chose it for his funeral chapel, and undertook some major works. But the great changes that were responsible for its current appearance date from the 17^th century, making what we recognise today a seventh century building that uses some elements from the High Middle Ages.