Showing 1-7 of 7 results
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Aqueduto de Pegões
The impressive Aqueduto de Pegões, striding towards the monastery from the northwest, was built from 1593 to 1613, to supply water to thirsty monks. Its 180 arches, some of which are double-decker, are thought to have been designed by Italian Filippo Terzi. It's best seen just off the Leiria road, 2.3km from town.
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Charola
Thought to be in imitation of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the 16-sided charola dominates the Convento de Cristo complex. The interior is otherworldly in its vast heights - an awesome combination of simple forms and rich embellishment. It's said that the circular design enabled the nights to attend mass on horseback. In the centre stands an eerily gothic high altar, like a temple within a temple. Restored wall paintings date from the early 16th century.
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Convento de Cristo
Convento de CristoWrapped in equal parts splendour and mystery, the Knights Templar held enormous power in Portugal from the 12th to 16th centuries, and largely bankrolled the Age of Discoveries. Their headquarters, set on wooded slopes above the town and enclosed within 12th-century walls, is a stony expression of magnificence combined with the no-holds-barred theatricality that long lent the order its particular fascination.
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Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição
Downhill from the monastery sits the strikingly simple, small, pure Renaissance basilica, Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição, built in the 16th century. It's believed to have been designed by Diogo de Torralva, who is also responsible for the Convento cloisters. At the time of writing it was closed for restoration.
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Igreja de São João Baptista
The Igreja de São João Baptista is the old town's most striking church, facing the Praça da República, itself an eye-catching ensemble of 17th-century buildings. The newly restored church, now blindingly white, dates mostly from the late 15th century. It has an octagonal spire and richly ornamented Manueline doorways on its northern and western sides.
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Museu dos Fósforos
The Museu dos Fósforos, housed in the lovely Convento de São Francisco, contains a collection of over 40,000 matchboxes. The largest collection of its kind in Europe, it was amassed by local 'phillumenist' Aquiles da Mota Lima from the 1950s onwards.
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Museu Luso-Hebraico Abraham Zacuto
On a charming cobbled lane in the old town, you'll find the Museu Luso-Hebraico Abraham Zacuto, the country's best-preserved medieval synagogue. Built between 1430 and 1460, it was used for only a few years, until Dom Manuel's convert-or-leave edict of 1496 forced most Jews to do the latter. The synagogue subsequently served as a prison, chapel, hayloft and warehouse until it was classified as a national monument in 1921.
Showing 1-7 of 7 results
