It is located in the Serra de Sintra, at an altitude of 488 meters, City and Municipality of Sintra, District of Lisbon, Central Portugal
The Sanctuary of Peninha built by popular devotion or the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Penha (Peninha) arises following a supposed appearance of Our Lady to a poor shepherdess, the place of worship is shrouded in legends that have passed through generations of pilgrims.
The architectural complex also consists of the centuries-old hermitage of São Saturnino and an enigmatic romantic-revivalist palace built in 1918 by António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro (owner of Quinta da Regaleira).
At the site we can observe rocks that make up the Sintra Magmatic Massif, created around 80 Ma at great depths, with granite being the dominant rock.
In the Serra de Sintra it is possible to observe landscapes in which chaotic piles of huge rounded blocks of rock stand out, constituting what is known as “chaos of blocks”, rocks of granitic and syenitic composition, with the buildings of Peninha being built on top of one of these piles of syenitic rock.
The legend of Peninha tells that in the reign of D. João III, in the land of Moinhos-Velhos there was a mute shepherdess who had the custom of taking her sheep to graze at the top of the mountain.
One day one of her sheep ran away leaving the young shepherdess desperate in search of that sheep and after long searches she noticed a lady in the distance who was bringing her sheep with her.
The Lady asked the shepherdess to give her some bread. The shepherdess explained to her gestures that that year had been bad and there was a lot of hunger and the Lady then gave her some advice: When you get home, call your mother and look for bread.
When he arrived home, he called for his mother and his voice was heard throughout his house and he told his mother the story and hurried to look for bread, and to their astonishment, inside a chest they found bread that arrived for the entire village.
The next day, as a token of gratitude, the whole village went up to the mountains, and precisely in the place where the shepherdess had found the lady, there was now a cave with the image of Our Lady and the place became sacred and later a chapel known as the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Peninha was built there.
The Peninha Sanctuary is part of an architectural complex formed by the old hermitage of São Saturnino (founded by D. Pêro Pais at the time of the formation of the kingdom of Portugal and now abandoned) and the romantic mansion in a revivalist style, which resembles a fortification, built in 1918.
The current chapel dates back to the 17th century, having been founded by Frei Pedro da Conceição.
The set of panels that cover the interior of the hermitage represent scenes from the Life of the Virgin, and were created by different authors.
The monumental panels in the body of the nave have been attributed to Manuel dos Santos. Also by him are the two panels that flank the main door and the semi-circular tympanum, the latter with the representation of Pentecost.
The main chapel, dating from 1690, is completely covered in a marble carpet of various colors (white, black, pink and yellow) and the altar, as well as the pulpit, is covered with beautiful inlays made of the same material and with the same colors.
The nave's tiles reflect the 42 steps in the life of the Virgin, with a beautiful design that can be attributed to either of two Italian painters who lived in Lisbon, Júlio César de Femine and Vicente Baccarelli, as the figures are absolutely Italian.
On the altar there are five more images: Saint Rita of Cássia, Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Joseph, Saint Augustine and another unidentified one holding a crosier.
The altarpiece, also with fine marble inlays, is attributed to João Antunes, as it is very similar to so many others designed by the architect of D. Pedro II.
The palace occupies the place where there was a group of three houses that are shown in old postcards that also cover the chapel and was built in 1918/1919 by the great Capitalist Dr. António Augusto de Carvalho Monteiro who, due to his wealth, was known as Monteiro dos Míveis.
Dr. António Augusto de Carvalho Monteiro, a great collector and truck driver, was born in Rio de Janeiro on November 27, 1850 and died in his palace in Sintra on October 24, 1920. The Peninha Palace designed by Sintra artist Júlio Fonseca was not finished by him.
The Palace was sold in the 1920s to his lawyer, Dr. José Maria Ferreira Rangel Sampaio, who approached master Júlio Fonseca asking to provide him with a new project so that he could finish the work.
Dr. Rangel, by testamentary disposition, donated the entire Peninha complex to the University of Coimbra, which in 1991 sold it to the current Institute for Nature Conservation.
The architectural complex also consists of the centuries-old hermitage of São Saturnino and an enigmatic romantic-revivalist palace built in 1918 by António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro (owner of Quinta da Regaleira).
At the site we can observe rocks that make up the Sintra Magmatic Massif, created around 80 Ma at great depths, with granite being the dominant rock.
In the Serra de Sintra it is possible to observe landscapes in which chaotic piles of huge rounded blocks of rock stand out, constituting what is known as “chaos of blocks”, rocks of granitic and syenitic composition, with the buildings of Peninha being built on top of one of these piles of syenitic rock.
The legend of Peninha tells that in the reign of D. João III, in the land of Moinhos-Velhos there was a mute shepherdess who had the custom of taking her sheep to graze at the top of the mountain.
One day one of her sheep ran away leaving the young shepherdess desperate in search of that sheep and after long searches she noticed a lady in the distance who was bringing her sheep with her.
The Lady asked the shepherdess to give her some bread. The shepherdess explained to her gestures that that year had been bad and there was a lot of hunger and the Lady then gave her some advice: When you get home, call your mother and look for bread.
When he arrived home, he called for his mother and his voice was heard throughout his house and he told his mother the story and hurried to look for bread, and to their astonishment, inside a chest they found bread that arrived for the entire village.
The next day, as a token of gratitude, the whole village went up to the mountains, and precisely in the place where the shepherdess had found the lady, there was now a cave with the image of Our Lady and the place became sacred and later a chapel known as the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Peninha was built there.
The Peninha Sanctuary is part of an architectural complex formed by the old hermitage of São Saturnino (founded by D. Pêro Pais at the time of the formation of the kingdom of Portugal and now abandoned) and the romantic mansion in a revivalist style, which resembles a fortification, built in 1918.
The current chapel dates back to the 17th century, having been founded by Frei Pedro da Conceição.
The set of panels that cover the interior of the hermitage represent scenes from the Life of the Virgin, and were created by different authors.
The monumental panels in the body of the nave have been attributed to Manuel dos Santos. Also by him are the two panels that flank the main door and the semi-circular tympanum, the latter with the representation of Pentecost.
The main chapel, dating from 1690, is completely covered in a marble carpet of various colors (white, black, pink and yellow) and the altar, as well as the pulpit, is covered with beautiful inlays made of the same material and with the same colors.
The nave's tiles reflect the 42 steps in the life of the Virgin, with a beautiful design that can be attributed to either of two Italian painters who lived in Lisbon, Júlio César de Femine and Vicente Baccarelli, as the figures are absolutely Italian.
On the altar there are five more images: Saint Rita of Cássia, Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Joseph, Saint Augustine and another unidentified one holding a crosier.
The altarpiece, also with fine marble inlays, is attributed to João Antunes, as it is very similar to so many others designed by the architect of D. Pedro II.
The palace occupies the place where there was a group of three houses that are shown in old postcards that also cover the chapel and was built in 1918/1919 by the great Capitalist Dr. António Augusto de Carvalho Monteiro who, due to his wealth, was known as Monteiro dos Míveis.
Dr. António Augusto de Carvalho Monteiro, a great collector and truck driver, was born in Rio de Janeiro on November 27, 1850 and died in his palace in Sintra on October 24, 1920. The Peninha Palace designed by Sintra artist Júlio Fonseca was not finished by him.
The Palace was sold in the 1920s to his lawyer, Dr. José Maria Ferreira Rangel Sampaio, who approached master Júlio Fonseca asking to provide him with a new project so that he could finish the work.
Dr. Rangel, by testamentary disposition, donated the entire Peninha complex to the University of Coimbra, which in 1991 sold it to the current Institute for Nature Conservation.
The Classification of the Sanctuary of Peninha Sintra
The Sanctuary of Peninha Sintra was classified as a Property of Public Interest in 1977.
