Convento dos Capuchos
Convento dos Capuchos features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Sintra. Give it roughly ~60 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type religious
- Suggested visit ~60 min
- Sintra Sintra guide
About Convento dos Capuchos
A remarkably austere 16th-century Franciscan hermitage carved into the rock of the Serra de Sintra, its cells are so tiny and low that monks had to crawl on hands and knees, lined with cork for insulation.
The Convento dos Capuchos is one of the most extraordinary and moving buildings in the Sintra hills, a 16th-century Franciscan hermitage of almost incomprehensible austerity, built directly into the granite rock of the Serra de Sintra. Founded in 1560 by Dom Álvaro de Castro, the convent was home to Franciscan friars who had taken a vow of radical poverty and simplicity. The cells are barely large enough for a man to lie down, with ceilings so low that anyone of normal height must stoop throughout. To insulate against the Serra's cold and damp, the monks lined the walls and ceilings of their cells with cork, creating the unusual and haunting aesthetic that gives the convent its character. The doorways are so low that entry requires almost a full bow. The contrast with the opulence of Pena Palace and the Sintra palaces is total. Visitors describe the convent as deeply moving, a monument to the possibility of a life stripped of everything except the essential.
Did you know? The cells of Convento dos Capuchos were lined with cork by the monks for insulation against the cold and damp of the Serra de Sintra, making it one of the world's first buildings to use cork as an architectural insulation material.
How long is a visit to Convento dos Capuchos?
Set aside roughly ~60 min for Convento dos Capuchos. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Convento dos Capuchos worth your time?
Convento dos Capuchos is among the 15 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Sintra, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Sintra
Hear the story of Convento dos Capuchos
Preview the Sintra tour free in the Gingerguide app.