EnglishReligious Architecture
Asilah [Arzila], North Africa, Marocco
Religious Architecture
The principal constructions in the Portuguese town were religious buildings: the Parish Church and a convent. The largest mosque of Asilah was converted into the parish church and dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, and later on to Saint Bartholomew. The great investment in terms of religious architecture in Asilah seems to have been the construction of the Monastery of Saint Francis, which was built at the end of the first quarter of the 16th century. Jorge Dias was in charge of the works between 1521 and 1522 but, despite the importance of the convent, nothing remains of the ensemble, there being no trace of it in the 19th century structure of the Raissouni Palace.
There are also accounts that mention the existence of a synagogue in 1525 or 1535 and a record of the construction of two large stables in the town near the Battlement’s Bastion in 1530.