Statue of Nuno Alvarez

The statue of Nuno Alvarez-Pereira, who heroically fought João I on the plains of Aljubarote, which was inaugurated in 1968, stands in the outer courtyard of the monastery of Santa Maria da Vitoria. This is a Dominican monastery in the Portuguese city of Batalha, built in gratitude to the Virgin Mary for the victory of Portugal over the Castilians in the battle of Aljubarote, held in 1385.

Before the battle, King João I swore that if his army defeated the Castilians, a monastery would be erected here.

Nuno Alvarez Pereira was the commander of the Portuguese army at the Battle of Aljubarrota, which ended in the defeat of the Castilians. He became a constable of Portugal at the age of 23 and made many good and correct decisions for Portugal.

In 1404 he donated his fortune to a Carmelite monastery. After the death of his wife in 1423, he went to the same monastery where he lived until his death.

The veneration of Nuno Alvarez-Pereira as a saint began immediately after his death. He was popularly called the Holy Constable, but the process of his official canonization in the Church lasted several centuries.