Characterization and territorial distribution of religious heritage in the parish of Cernache do Bonjardim, Central Portugal

Since Portugal is a mainly Catholic country, there are several testimonies of the practice of this religion and the faith of the people. In the parish of Cernache do Bonjardim, Central Portugal, birthplace of São Nuno de Santa Maria (canonized on April 26, 2009), there are several types of buildings related to religion, such as churches, chapels, field crosses and built sets. The number of churches and chapels is impressive: 18 religious buildings exist in a territory with about 7000 Ha and 3000 inhabitants (Census 2011). These buildings dated from different periods, have different characteristics and, within the same category, interesting differences can also be found. The main objectives of this article are to characterize and analyse the current situation of this heritage and its dissemination, enhancement and subsequent protection. The methods used were based on bibliographic, iconographic, photographic, cartographic, webgraphic research, in situ surveys and interaction with local residents. The approach comprises the survey of the religious heritage mentioned above, subsequent cataloguing and analysis regarding the orientation chosen for its construction, its age and its geographic distribution. With this analysis it is possible to group the elements into categories that facilitate their characterization. One of the main limitations of the investigation was the lack of documents and registrations about the described elements, which is partly due to the fire of 1917, in the City Hall, which destroyed all existing documents, and partly due to the disappearance of some of those elements and the subsequent reuse and relocation of the materials that made them up, making it difficult to recognize them, as well as the geographical and temporal location of their construction. The main conclusions are that most of the churches and chapels, against all expectations, do not respect the traditional canonical orientation and, that the majority of them was built in the 20th century and (probably) in the 17th century. Although distributed uniformly throughout the territory of the parish, the religious heritage is mostly found in the village of Cernache do Bonjardim and in the area of Serra da Santa, the highest point in this territory (475 m). This work does not intend to influence even more the attitudes of the population because they already value, appreciate and care for this heritage. However, the point of view presented in this article is different from the usual one and may open a new way of looking at this heritage. The originality of this work is that this type of heritage has not yet been approached in the territory under study. The article contributes to another study about this parish. As future developments, an analysis of the relationship between the dominant terrain orientations and the location of these patrimonial elements is suggested in order to be able to estimate more relationships that may exist.