CONVENTO DA CONCEIÇÃO

In the late ^19th and early ^20th centuries, Beja suffered extensive destruction. But this former Franciscan convent, founded in 1459 and blending Gothic and Manueline styles, has survived. In addition to the church, it houses a rococo chapel from the ^17th and ^18th centuries, a cloister with beautiful azulejos from the ^16th and ^17th centuries (perhaps the finest collection in Portugal), and the Rainha Leonor Regional Museum, featuring paintings by Flemish and Spanish artists (Ribeira, Arellano) as well as Portuguese primitives. Upstairs is the Archaeology Museum.