Santarém - II

After the reconquest of the Santarém, the city was frequently visited by the successive monarchs and many feudal parliaments (Cortes) were held in Santarém. King Fernando I, in particular, was very fond of the city and chose to be buried in the Convent of Saint Francis (his tomb is now in the Carmo Museum in Lisbon). The city was one of the most important in medieval Portugal, as attested by its large number of monasteries and its royal palace (no longer standing but was located where the Cathedral currently stands). There are still enough examples of Gothic buildings in the city for it to be known as the "Capital of the Portuguese Gothic".