The old parish church of Montemor-o-Novo in the 16th century - a manuelino example and its virtual reconstruction

Located nowadays in the west zone of the Montemor-o-Novo´s Castle, the Igreja de Santa Maria do Bispo was established there in the first years of the 14th century. The first documented reference to it dates from 1321, when most of the village was still located inside the fortified walls. Once a magnificent building of three naves sustained on fourteen stone columns, today only the ruins of its majestic manuelino style portal and its chapels at the head of the church remain. Around 1524, centuries after the conclusion of the initial architectural works, a new campaign was started on a time when the outskirts of the village of Montemor-o-Novo became more and more its economical epicenter. During the reign of king D. João III of Portugal, this construction campaign implied an almost complete reconstruction under the manuelino renovador style. It is precisely this phase that we are bringing back, via 3D scan and 3D modeling and through a reading of the Archaeology of Architecture of the existing ruins of the Igreja de Santa Maria do Bispo, in Montemor-o-Novo.