Ceiling of the main Church of Provesende

John the Baptist is a recurrent figure in the Douro. He is the patron saint of the parish of Provesende. A hermit in the desert “until the day he was presented to Israel” (Lc 1, 80), he is easily identified by his specific clothing: a camel skin wrapped around his body, a red cloak that reminds us of his martyrdom, a cross on his hand symbolising the anticipation of the martyrdom of Christ, a phylactery with the words “Ecce Agnus Dei”, the words spoken by John to the Saviour before he baptised Him in the salvific waters of the Jordan River.