Sanctuary Santa luzia Viana Do Castelo -Portugal

Arriving at the top of the hill, I parked the car in one of the available parking lots that is very close to the sanctuary, I immediately started exploring the sanctuary gardens. I was blown away by the beauty of the place. The lawns were well maintained, the flowers were in bloom, typical of Spring in Portugal, the soft aroma of yellow and white pampilhos in the air made the atmosphere even more pleasant. I walked along the tree-lined paths, enjoying the peaceful and serene setting of the garden. But curiosity made me go further, there were some people sitting just admiring the lookout and others making out, it's easy to say that I kept thinking that those records of boyfriends made for wonderful photos, and so I set foot on the path.

The views were breathtaking! I could see the city of Viana do Castelo, the Lima river meandering through the landscape, the Atlantic ocean in the distance and the mountains all around. I stayed there for a while, enjoying the natural beauty and taking lots of pictures to record it all.
Viana seen from the top is really beautiful as we were able to see the city accurately because the weather was clear we were able to clearly see the river flowing into the sea and the boats entering the river via the sea.

Viana do Castelo is also known for its shipyards, and of great importance in Portugal because ships are built there and major repairs are carried out.
world voyager, it has 4 tourist ships, all of them built in the shipyards of viana, as such many people from that city work in the sector of repair and construction of boats, I would even say that it is possibly the sector that employs the most people in that area, we can see the big ones winches to hold the boats while they are under construction, it is also clear that there is a lot of agriculture near the sea, which gives an excellent contrast between the sea and the green of the land.

the gardens near the basilica are very enveloping the green and some objects from ancient times or even fountains are the highlight of the place

there are also several places to have lunch at the top with the breathtaking view you could see earlier. As I couldn't speak there, I had to take a bite of the bread with chorizo ​​I bought at the Easter fair, as I mentioned before in a previous post:)

After the brief snack I decided to enter the sanctuary

In the basilica of the Sanctuary of Santa Luzia and I was amazed by its imposing architecture. The mosaics, colorful stained glass and religious sculptures inside were breathtaking. I walked to the altar and took a moment to say a prayer and reflect on the spirituality of the place.
flash was prohibited but it was possible to take pictures, which fortunately will be able to see the interior of this monument

I confess that the church on the outside has many details, what I was counting on the inside to be the same, I was completely wrong.
A church with colored glass and designs, a simple altar and a ceiling alluding to angels with God in the central part.
Very simple but equally beautiful for its simplicity

All photos were taken with canon 2000D and are my own, I hope you like it, thanks for reading