Statue of Longuinhos
At the exit of the funicular, or, returning back to the pelican patio, climb up the steps on the left side and we face the equestrian statue of S. Longuinhos or Longino, martyr of the first century, Roman centurion, commander of the soldiers who took Christ to the Calvary and later converted to Christianity. It is said that he tore the side of Jesus with a throw. He converted after the Passion and suffered martyrdom at Caesarea.
This monument to a soldier of great stature, based on granite rock of the region, with a thick and high pedestal, armed with spear, morrion and shield, mounting a pure breed horse, was offered in 1819 by Dr. Luís José de Castro Gomes of Couto, in fulfillment of a vote, being one of the first equestrian statues in Portugal.
There is a legend about this statue that says: «a single girl who, in silence, takes three turns around her, within a year she will be married. ». The image of Longuinhos was sculpted by the master José Luis.
Nearby, on an intermediate level, is a granite stone bench of the region, by António Ferreira Lopes, with the inscription «to the Architect Carlos Amarante in the second centenary of his birth from 1748- 1948», ordered by the Confraria of Bom Jesus, in 1948.
Under a parapet, we found the Jano fountain, with a simple architecture and without allegorical emblem. You know this nomenclature by having two equal faces. It was placed in this place, in the late 19th century, thanks to the merit of the commander Francisco Casimiro da Cruz Teixeira, located near the Descent of the Cross chapel and separated from the Longuinhos statue by only a few steps of stairs.
