Located in the heart of old Porto, in the parish of Vitória, the Monastery of São Bento da Vitória - classified as a National Monument in 1977 - is one of the city's most important religious buildings. It used to be inside the walls, next to the Olival Gate, occupying part of the old Jewish quarter. Today, it is part of the Cordoaria, just below the old Cadeia da Relação, a building occupied by the Portuguese Photography Centre.

At the end of the 16th century, after difficult negotiations, the monks of the former Portuguese Benedictine Congregation decided to build the Monastery as a mark of monastic presence and a point of support for religious travelling from North to South and vice versa. The city of Oporto was a hotbed of illustrious monks at the time and the monastery became an important monument due to its architectural grandeur and the monks' activity, especially in music and singing, creating a real school here, of which the church's imposing organ is still an emblem.

Once the necessary royal authorisation was granted in 1598, the project was assigned to the architect Diogo Marques Lucas, a former disciple of Filipe Terzi. Building work began in 1604 and continued until the end of the century. The adjacent church was built in 1693, but the decorative campaigns inside continued until the end of the 18th century. It was a long process, which is reflected in the Mannerist and Baroque architecture, as well as in the church's ornamentation, with works from different periods and of great significance in the context of Portuguese art history.