São Pedro de Rates
Camino Portugues
The Igreja Romanica de Sao Pedro de Rates sits at the entrance to town and is the finest Romanesque church in Portugal. The church is all that survives of the Benedictine monastery that once stood here — a solemn, heavy-set building whose carved capitals and corbels are worth a careful look. The adjacent museum provides context.
The fountain near the church is attributed to Sao Pedro de Rates himself. Local tradition claims it has miraculous properties — specifically, that it cures sterility in anyone who drinks from it. The water is drinkable regardless of your fertility concerns.
At the start of town the camino splits — keep right for the Central Way. The left fork leads west to the Coastal Way.
At the start of town the camino splits. Keep to your right, following the arrows along The Central Way. The other variation will take you west to join The Coastal Way.
Saint Peter of Rates is celebrated on his feast day, the 26th of April.
Sao Pedro de Rates is the legendary first Bishop of Braga, said to have been ordained by Santiago himself. The two were contemporaries, and both met the same fate — decapitation. Like Santiago, Pedro's remains were lost for centuries before being rediscovered by means of a miraculous light in the sky, around 800 years later. A church was built to house his relics, which became a pilgrimage destination in their own right.
The historical truth is murkier — Pedro may be a composite figure — but the tradition is deeply embedded in the Camino Portugues and the identity of both Rates and Braga.
Accommodation in São Pedro de Rates.
| Albergue de Peregrinos São Pedro de Rates Donativo€ 57 |
| Casa Rural Casa Mattos |
| Casa Anabela | 
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