Church of Santo António (Lagos)

Why go

The Church of Santo António is a Baroque church on Rua General Alberto da Silveira in Lagos. The Municipality of Lagos says it was built in 1707 and rebuilt after an earthquake destroyed most of the building and its gilding, that the surviving altarpiece was commissioned in 1718 from the carver Gaspar Martins, and that the rest of the woodwork is attributed to Custódio Mesquita. It also describes a painted ceiling with the arms of Portugal, a blue-and-white tile dado and the tombstone of Hugo Beaty, commander of the Lagos Infantry Regiment, who was responsible for rebuilding the church in 1769. The Museu de Lagos says the church belonged to the brotherhood of Santo António of the regiment's soldiers and forms part of its Dr. José Formosinho museum site, which has its own ticket. The museum's visit page sets admission rules for its sites, such as no entry in swimwear, bare-chested or barefoot, and no entry for under-12s without an adult.