Hidden deep within the Monfurado hills near Évora, Portugal, the ruins of the Mosteiro de Nossa Senhora do Castelo das Covas (also known as the Convento dos Monges or Monastery of Monfurado) are slowly giving way to wind, rain, and silence.

Today, the monastery stands abandoned. Its vaulted ceilings open to the sky, walls crumbling under ivy, and fragments of frescoes whispering stories long forgotten. As a photographer obsessed with the poetry of decay, I went there to listen with my lens. This blog explores the monastery’s origins, architecture, and the visual language of its ruin. Alongside, you’ll find the images I captured, each one a quiet tribute to what once was.

Origins: From Caves to a Monastic Life

The story begins in the early 18th century, when a small community of hermits from the Order of Saint Paul settled in the Monfurado hills. These men lived ascetically in caves, the “covas”, that gave the monastery its name.

Eventually, they transitioned from simple hermitic living to founding a religious structure. The site, perched on a hill between Montemor-o-Novo and Santiago do Escoural, was ideal for spiritual isolation. Far from any village, the silence here is almost absolute. Construction of the Monastery of Nossa Senhora do Castelo das Covas followed the modest baroque styles of the time. Though not grand, it was deliberate. A place of reflection, sacrifice, and community.

Earthquakes, Abandonment, and Time

The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, one of the most destructive in European history, dealt a heavy blow to the monastery. Damaged but not destroyed, it was partially restored. Religious activity resumed by 1783.

But history had other plans. In 1834, all monasteries in Portugal were dissolved by state decree. This act stripped the monastery of its function, funding, and community. Over time, without maintenance, the complex began to fall apart. The church remained partially in use until the early 20th century. Eventually, even the last residents of the attached “palace” structure moved out. Today, nature is the only occupant.

Architecture: What Remains, What Was

Though in ruins, the monastery still tells its story through stone. Its layout likely included:

      • A single-nave church with a chancel and side altars
      • Monastic residences and utility rooms
      • A small palace annex for guests or higher clergy
      • Possibly a cloister or garden courtyard

What remains are skeletal:

      • The nave is roofless, open to sky and weather
      • Several arches and pillars still stand, worn but proud
      • Portions of the chancel display remnants of mural decoration, faded reds and ochres
      • Doorways and windows now frame light and trees instead of icons and glass
      • Parts of outer walls suggest rooms used for sleeping, storage, or prayer

There is little ornamentation left. The style is understated, befitting the monastic lifestyle it once housed. It’s a place of stone and spirit, not wealth and display.

Why Places Like The Monastery of Monfurado Matter

Why photograph ruins?Because they hold memory.

This monastery was never a royal palace or architectural marvel. But it was someone’s whole life, many lives, in fact. It housed prayers, arguments, meals, deathbeds. Its broken altar still has presence. Its empty doorways still invite.

Abandoned places like this connect us to impermanence, and the idea that beauty lives in what fades. They remind us:

  • Of the power of silence
  • Of how architecture speaks even in collapse
  • Of the lives we’ll never know but can still imagine

In photographing this place, I hope to give it a second voice, a way to be seen again.

Planning Your Visit (or Not)

Before you pack your camera:

      • This site is in advanced ruin. Some walls are unstable, and there’s no official access route.
      • Parts of the monastery are located on private or agricultural land. Access may not be permitted.
      • If you do visit: go respectfully, go carefully, and leave everything as you found it.

Or just enjoy it here , through images, through story.

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