Monastery of Rates

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According to legend, Peter of Rates came to the future Portuguese territory in the year 44 AD invited by Saint James the Great, one of Jesus 's apostles. Peter is the legendary first Bishop of Braga and suffered martyrdom while trying to convert pagans to Christianity. Also according to legend, Peter's tomb was rediscovered in the 9th century, and a church was built to keep his remains. The relics were subject to pilgrimage during the Middle Ages.

The foundation of the Monastery of Rates is still rather mysterious. The building is of Asturian tradition and was totally rebuilt in the following centuries. But several material artifacts identify the origin of the temple to the Roman period. The archeological data retrieved in 1997 and 1998 in the surrounding area allowed the documentation of the several construction phases of the monastery and in particular from the 6th century to the present day. In the excavations, the knowledge about the Preromanesque period widened, namely with the probable narthex of the Preromanesque temple, where a Roman stele was found, this artifact was Christianized in the…