Exterior style in the early 16th century. Under the window there is a
Madonna with the Child under a gothic canopy between the coat-of-arms of Portugal (left) and that of Archbishop Diogo de Sousa (right). The original romanesque
Western façade of the Cathedral of Braga has been totally suppressed, except for some
archivolts and
capitals of the main portal, heavily decorated with animal and human sculptured reliefs. The figures of one archivolt, with hens, foxes and a
minstrel, may be telling a moralistic song like the
Roman de Renart, of
French tradition. Between 1486 and 1501, an entrance gallery (a
galilee) in late gothic style was built preceding the main portal. The galilee has
ribbed vaulting and is decorated with statues and
gargoyles, the gargoyles were used for spouts so rain wouldn't ruin the side of the buildings. The beautiful
manueline metal gate was originally in the interior of the cathedral, but was moved to the galilee in the 18th century. In the early 16th century, Archbishop
Diogo de Sousa modified the main romanesque portal, sacrificing the inner archivolts. The upper part of the façade and towers were totally modernised in the 18th century and are unremarkable. The
Southern façade of the cathedral has an interesting romanesque portal. Notable is the
main chapel of the
apse, rebuilt in 1509 under Archbishop Diogo de Sousa by
basque architect
João de Castilho. The exterior of the chapel has beautiful late gothic and manueline tracery with gargoyles and pinnacles, matched in the interior of the chapel by intricate ribbed vaulting. The outer wall of the main chapel has a beautiful early-16th century statue of
the Madonna breastfeeding
Jesus (
Madona do Leite) between the
coat of arms of Portugal and Bishop Diogo de Sousa, sponsor of the
manueline renovation.
Interior Braga Cathedral has three
aisles covered by a wooden roof, a transept and five Eastern chapels in the apse. None of the chapels is original romanesque anymore: the main chapel is manueline, while the others are heavily decorated in baroque style. In the North wall outside of the cathedral there is a small chapel, of early romanesque design, that may be a remnant of the late 11th building. This chapel was left outside of the final cathedral, perhaps due to a change of design in the 12th century. The
nave is essentially romanesque thanks to a "purifying" reform in the 20th century that suppressed most later additions, although most original capitals of the columns have been lost.
D. Afonso, son of
King John I, is buried in a 15th-century tomb made of bronze, which can be seen in the nave of the cathedral. A
high choir was added near the entrance of the cathedral in the baroque period. This choir is beautifully decorated with a painted ceiling and sculptured gilt wood (
talha dourada) choir stalls executed around 1737 by
Miguel Francisco da Silva. In front of the high choir there are two gilt wood organs, carved by renowned sculptor
Marceliano de Araújo in the 1730s, heavily decorated with baroque and fantastic motifs. These are among the most impressive gilt wood works in Portugal. The
main chapel is roofed with stone rib vaulting and its walls are decorated with a 14th-century statue of the
Virgin Mary (
Nossa Senhora de Braga). During the remodelling of the chapel, Archbishop Diogo de Sousa also commissioned a stone altar, but most of it has been lost. The part still preserved is used as altar table and has beautiful reliefs of Christ and the Apostles. The choir stalls are neogothic. The other chapels of the
apse are decorated in baroque or neoclassical styles. The chapel of
Saint Peter of Rates is particularly interesting, being decorated with typical blue-white
tiles that tell the life of the saint. The author of the tiles is
António de Oliveira Bernardes, one of the main 18th century-Portuguese tile painter. Several chapels were built adjacent to the cathedral in the Middle Ages. The
Chapel of the Kings (
Capela dos Reis) was built around 1374 in the place where
Count Henrique and
Countess Theresa, parents of the
first Portuguese King, were buried. Their tombs were substituted in the early 16th century by new ones, with recumbent figures. The gothic
Chapel of the Glory (
Capela da Glória) was built between 1326 and 1348 to be the resting place for Archbishop
Gonçalo Pereira. He commissioned a magnificent tomb for himself to sculptors
Master Pero, an
Aragonese, and
Telo Garcia, a Portuguese. The tomb, guarded by six stone lions, has the life-size statue of the archbishop, with his head resting over a pillow held by angels. The sides of the tomb are decorated with images of the apostles and clergymen. In the early 16th century the chapel was painted with interesting geometrical motifs of
Moorish influence, very similar to Sevillian tiles. Near the
cloisters is located the
Chapel of Piety (
Capela da Piedade) built by Archbishop Diogo de Sousa around 1513. He is buried in the chapel in a beautiful
Renaissance tomb. The cloisters were rebuilt in the 19th century and are of little artistic interest, but the
Cathedral Museum keeps many interesting items. These include the magnificent manueline chalice of Archbishop Diogo de Sousa (early 16th century), the chalice of
Saint Gerald (10th century) and an Arab ivory box (11th century), among others. . ==Personalities==