VII International Seminar Ora et labora “The ‘New Church’ of the Monastery of Refojos de Basto – 270 years of its construction: history, architecture, art, culture and literature“, will take place on June 5 and 6 of this year, in the auditorium of Casa do Tempo, in Cabeceiras de Basto.

5-6 JUN. 2025

 

The 7th international seminar “Ora et labora” will be held on June 5 and 6, organized by the Cabeceiras de Basto City Council in collaboration with CITCEM – Transdisciplinary Research Centre “Culture, Space and Memory” of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Porto.

The 2025 edition will focus on the 270th anniversary of the beginning of the construction of the new church of the Monastery of S. Miguel de Refojos, with the aim of broadening scientific knowledge and fostering local and regional involvement.

The construction of the “New Church” suggests an affirmation of the Monastery of Refojos de Basto, not only the building, which involved several artists, but also marked an aesthetic language, the result of a heritage, religious, architectural and artistic conception that will give rise to multiple approaches. The organization of this Seminar seeks to cross multiple interpretive views of a work that marks the landscape and prompts comparative approaches.

 

Program

JUNE 5th (Thursday)

9:30 a.m. Reception and delivery of documentation

10h00 Opening session

Cultural Heritage at the heart of public policies – Joao Soalheiro – President of Cultural Heritage I.P.

Se/o Routes of the North – Route “Monasteries and Convents in the North” – Lília Basílio – CCDR-Norte Culture and Heritage

 

11h00 I PANEL: Architecture, History, Tradition and Renewal

Church of the Monastery of Refojos de Basta – 270 years old – Paulo Oliveira – Cultural Heritage/ Monastery of S. Martinho de Tibães

The Monastery Church, 270 years of history and interventions – the dynamics of recent years – Paulo Freitas – PFMJM Architects

12:30 Free lunch

 

14:30 II PANEL: Arts and Artists

Galegos in Cabeceiras – Eduardo Pires de Oliveira – ARTIS – IHA/FL/UL

The artistic activity of Frei Jose Vilaça and D. Francisco Solha in Refojos de Basto and Guimarães – Antonio José Oliveira – FLUP/ CITCEM

 

16h00 Debate

Coffee break

The Tardoz of the Altarpiece of the Church of the Monastery of Refojos de Basto Jose Vieira Gomes – PhD student and researcher ARTIS-IHA/FLUL Manuel Pinheiro Gonçalves – IEFP trainer

The influence of Bernardino Passeri’s prints on Benedictine iconography – Antonio Jose Ferreira Afonso – University of Santiago de Compostela – USC

“O mange entalhador” Frei Jose de Santo Antonio Ferreira Vilaça in the light of Robert C. Smith’s studies – Silvia Ferreira – IHA-NOVA/ FCSH / IN2PAST

 

18h00 Debate

 

21:30 Cultural Evening

Vocal Ensemble Group /NTROITUS

Ilídio dos Santos Space – Cloister S. Miguel de Refojos Monastery

JUNE 6 (Friday)

9:30 Ill PANEL: The balance of prayer and work in Benedictine life

Agricultural practices at the Monastery of S. Miguel de Refojos Anabela Ramos – Cultural Heritage/Tibães Monastery

The splendor of worship. The pomp of the festivities – Aida Mata – researcher

 

10:30 a.m. Coffee break

The agricultural and land domain of the Benedictine grantee in the Couto de Tibães – José Carlos G. Peixoto – Historian

12h00 Debate

 

12:30 Free lunch

 

14:30 IV PANEL: Culture and literature

Behind the scenes of the new Church of Refojos: the mentors, the abbots and the literati (17th-18th centuries) – Ana Isabel Líbano Monteiro – National Library of Portugal

A panorama through the lines of expression of the bookshop of the monastery of Refojos de Basto – André Pequeno dos Santos – PhD student in History FLUP/CITCEM

“Hagan el/os otro tanto, que yo se lo perdono”. Baroque graphics and art in Galicia and Northern Portugal – Carme Lopez Calderon – University of Santiago de Compostela

The canvas of the high altar of the Monastery of São Miguel de Refojos in Basta: history and iconography – Mara Raquel Rodrigues de Paula – Goiás State Department of Education, Brazil/FLUP

 

16h00 Debate

Coffee break

Camilo Castelo Branco and Cabeceiras de Basta – what spirituality in the critique of ways of life

Sérgio Guimarães de Sousa – University of Minho / Scientific Coordinator of the Camillian Studies Center and the Camilo House-Museum

 

17h00 Guided tour of the Church of the Monastery of S. Miguel de Refojos and the Center for Benedictine Studies in Cabeceiras de Basta, Prof. Doutor Frei Geraldo Coelho Dias, OSB.

 

 

The course has CCPFC/ACC accreditation – 134955/25, in the scientific and pedagogical dimension for groups 200,210,220,300,400 and 420.

 

Organizing Committee:

• Fátima Oliveira (Municipality of Cabeceiras de Basto)
• Alexandra Carneiro (Municipality of Cabeceiras de Basto)

 

Scientific Committee:

• Maria João Oliveira e Silva (U. Porto/CITCEM)
• Joana Lencart (U. Porto/CITCEM)
• Zulmira Santos (U. Porto/CITCEM)
• Luís Carlos Amaral (U. Porto/CITCEM)
• Manuel Joaquim Rocha ( (U. Porto/CITCEM)
• Leonor Botelho (U. Porto/CITCEM)
• Paula Almeida Mendes (U. Porto/CITCEM)

 

 

Registration form