Chapel of Saint Vincent of Pontoibo

Chapel of Saint Vincent of Pontoibo

People from Pontoibo keep the essence of the day of Saint Vincent with the auction and festivity on the 22nd of January.
The hermitage of Pontoibo is dedicated to St Vincent Ferrer and St Vincent martyr. The present-day building was a rebuilding of the chapel which existed at least from the 16th century.

The place is very old, since a medieval necropolis was discovered in the atrium. An anthropomorphous sarcophagus from the site is kept next to the hermitage. This sarcophagus is known as the "Baño do Santo", and the water in it is thought to have beneficial properties for the eyes.

Historically, the chapel had a great amount of cattle, which used to be auctioned on the festivity, and nowadays, on the 22nd of January, people still auction vegetables and the money is used to pay for the expenses of festivities of the saint's day. As an anecdote, in 1809, when the invasion of Napoleon, the French army sacked the church, taking the holy chalice with them.