Despite having been deeply modified by the reconstructions carried out over centuries of existence, the Church of São Gens is a reference in terms of municipal Romanesque art.

The monastery of São Bento, of great importance for the religious, stood out as the religious institution that acquired the greatest power in the space of the current municipality of Fafe during the Middle Ages.

The presence of an inscription on the south side wall dating from 1091 indicates that the construction of the church would have been completely finished towards the end of the 11th century.

The Church of S. Gens preserves several Romanesque elements from its primitive structure, among which a typically Romanesque doorway stands out, ennobled and decorated with zoomorphic and vegetative elements at the top of the columns.

In addition to the numerous initials and inscriptions and other architectural elements present throughout the temple, a closer look allows us to observe a curious anthropomorphic dog integrated into the cornice of the south façade.

Inside, the most notable feature is the ribbed arch that separates the nave from the chancel, with its richly worked Romanesque voussoirs decorated with intertwined plant and animal motifs (birds), with traces of paint as well.

At the back of the temple, on a huge granite batholith, stands a bell tower of considerable size, which gives the complex unusual characteristics in the region.

In the cemetery, you can see some decorated medieval tomb doors with inscriptions. Above the door of the mortuary chapel, there is another tomb cover reused on the wall of the building.