1126750 Zoomorphic Capital from one of the original columns. (granite) by Portuguese School, (12th century); Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Salzedas, Tarouca, Portugal; (add.info.: Monastery of Santa Maria de Salzedas In its time, this was one of the largest Cistercian monasteries in Portugal, having been given vast areas of land in the surrounding region with the express duty of tilling and populating them. Construction work began in 1155, immediately after the Order had been given the lands by Egas Moniz, the tutor of D. Afonso Henriques, and his wife Teresa Afonso. It was consecrated in 1255, when the complex of monastic buildings was complete; ); Prismatic Pictures ; Portuguese, out of copyright.