Without any documentary evidence, the building could date back to the early days of the village (nothing has been detected from its original design). In the middle of the 13th century, we know from the Afonsine inquiries -, the parish of Sta. Maria, most likely headquartered in the church of the same name, was among the four in the cluster.

The most significant alterations occurred throughout the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries: Erected in the third quarter of the 1500s, the body of the monument has an interior divided into three naves by polygonal columns (built in brick) that support half-point arches, modeling the space of this hall-church; the chancel (must date from 1580) and the chapel of Figueiredos (dedicated to N. Sra. dos Prazeres) were commissioned in 1585 by Pero de Figueiredo (mayor of Bragança); In the 17th century, mention should be made of the altarpiece dedicated to St.
Estevão and the precious and expressive image of Sta. Maria Madalena (high altar), 17th-century work by master Gregório Fernandez or Pedro de Mena, from the Valladolid workshops; In the 18th century, many decorative elements and some architectural additions were added, such as the baroque altarpiece in the chancel and the ceiling of the central nave, which features a painting with beautiful effect scenography, in a language that is close to that expressed in the churches of S. Clara, S. Bento, S. Francisco (chapel of N. Sra. da Conceição) and in the chapel of the former Episcopal Palace (today the Abade de Baçal Museum); the frontage, of “altabular type”, is enlivened by a baroque portal (1690-1715), in which the pseudo-Solomonic columns and the scrolling of the pediments play a prominent role. By the hand of the stonemasons, the carving of the altars was materialized in stone, to solemnize the entrance to the holy space.

Mass schedule: Saturday 5:00pm.

Source: https://turismo.cm-braganca.pt/patrimonio-com-historia/igrejas-e-mosteiros/geo_artigo/igreja-de-santa-maria