Chapel of Exile

A baroque style chapel designed in 1716 by the Priest Frei Luís de São José. It is situated in the Jardim das Murtas, within the compound of the Monastery of Alcobaça.
This small, elegant rectangular building from the 18th century, the Desterro Chapel presents a typically Baroque retable façade featuring a portal flanked by four Solomonic columns on top of which is a pediment with an oculus in the centre. This group is crowned by an aedicular sculptural group depicting the Annunciation to Joseph.
The altar is profusely decorated in gilded carved wood and houses the remains of the Dona Constança, Virgin and Martyr.
The interior walls are covered in glazed tiles attributed to António Vital Rifarto and dated 1720-23. The main theme depicted in the tile panels in the Holy Family’s flight into and return from Egypt.