Monuments and churches

Ermida de São Domingos

CM 1102, Fontelo, 5110 Armamar

Contacts and location

Address: CM 1102, Fontelo, 5110 Armamar
Coordinates: 41.12054, -7.74636 · see on map

The Ermida de São Domingos (Hermitage of Saint Dominic) crowns São Domingos hill in Fontelo, parish of Fontelo, municipality of Armamar, beside the CM 1102 road. The municipality calls it a typical example of the hermitages of medieval pilgrimages, built almost a thousand years ago.

The oldest reference to the site dates from 1163. King Afonso V is said to have visited the hermitage with Queen Isabel in 1454; King John II and Queen Leonor reportedly did the same, asking for an heir, and returned at the end of 1483 with their son, Prince Afonso. Couples struggling to conceive slept in the open on the "propitiatory stone", or "fertility crag", still visible by the sacristy door. The pilgrimage was so important that the Câmara of Lamego had to join it, carrying the royal banner.

The hermitage is about 5 km in a straight line from the centre of Armamar and is reached by car. Next to it is the São Domingos viewpoint, overlooking the Douro and the Marão.