Igreja de Santa Maria (St. Maria Church), Sintra

After Afonso Henriques conquered Sintra in the 12th century, liberating the area from Moorish domination, he set about creating church parishes. The first church was the church of Santa Maria. It was a small church on the outskirts of town. In 1254 the town had grown and prior Lourenco Anes established Santa Maria as a collegiate church.

By the 14th century the church had been completely redone in the Gothic style. In the 16th century the high choir was built, the Gothic portals were changed, and the ceiling redone in wood with the coat of arms of the Queen. The altars were fitted with Hispano-Arabic tiles. The collegiate church was dissolved in 1640.

The style of the church today follows the Mendicant Gothic fashion of Medieval churches. It has three naves, the central nave is higher than the side naves. The naves are separated by arcades of broken arches. The two-bay chancel has a polygonal top and cross vault. The main facade has a broken arch with archivolts within a gable.

Over the front portal there is a Baroque window. The side portals of the exterior are Gothic with buttresses and decorated corbels. The main portal on the south side has canopy arches separated by a thin mullion. Renovations of the 1930s sought to preserve the church's initial "purity."