Bernardas Convent
More than Five hundred years of history 1509-2011
At Bernardas Convent we feel more than five hundred years of History. It has been the largest conventual building in Algarve and the only one of the Cister Order in this whole Portuguese southern region. Its construction is due to King D. Manuel l, who, by this decision, has shown his gratitude for the victory in Arzila, North of Africa, when the Moorish army has given up the siege of the town. The Bernardas Convent has welcome during 3 centuries nuns originated not only from Tavira but from the whole Algarve. There are still some references to the presence of nuns originated from Alentejo and from the Azores Islands. The nuns manual abilities have been known thanks to their skills in confectioners arts, mostly in caramels, in saints registrations (blades) and in sacred art works (crockery and painting) produced in their workshops. The construction plan has followed the Cister tradition: square plan, two cloisters and a church devoted to Our Lady of Piety. Similar to what has happened to many monuments in Tavira, the Bernardas Convent has been seriously damaged by the 1755 earthquake. In any case the coarse Manuelin portal located in the Northern elevation of the church has survived both to the catastrophe and to the later modifications and amplifications of the building. After having been sold in public auction in 1834, as a consequence of the extinction of the religious orders in Portugal, the Convent has been used by a milling and paste factory. Its original design has then suffered the worst possible loss of character, leading to the present aesthetic and construction degradation.
