Igreja de São Martinho de Aldoar, Porto

Above the main doorway, you can see the eight-pointed cross of the Order of Malta. This is Igreja de São Martinho de Aldoar, also called Igreja da Vilarinha, in Porto’s parish of Aldoar. Building began in 1732, and the church opened on the twenty-seventh of March 1738.

It was first designed with just one nave and one tower. As Aldoar became part of Porto and its population grew, the community needed a roomier place of worship. This church therefore ceased to be the parish church; that role now belongs to the newer Igreja Matriz de Aldoar.

The church belonged to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta, commonly known as the Order of Malta. The cross over the entrance reflects that connection, and Aldoar’s parish coat of arms bears the same symbol. Monthly northern gatherings of the Portuguese Knights of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta still take place here, while its national headquarters are at the Church of Santa Luzia and São Brás in Lisbon. Despite this long history, the church has no legal heritage protection.