Two medieval side chapels of the Convent of S. Francisco de Tavira

Abstract

Two side chapels, presently integrated in a gardened space, are practically all that remains from the ancient Tavira’s Saint Francis convent, probably founded in the late XIII century, officially extinguished in 1834. The purpose of this brief note is, above all, to call attention for the need to carry on a more rigorous study of the formal elements of these two chapels, particularly the heraldic signs existing therein, some of them not even identified up until now, extraordinary testimonials from medievalTavira. For practical reasons, these chapels will be provisionally called as Machados chapel and Costas chapel (in a direct allusion to the heraldic symbols represented there), because their primitive designations are not known.