Religious, Spiritual sights in Portugal
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Convento dos Capuchos
Hidden in the woods is the bewitchingly hobbit-hole-like Convento dos Capuchos, built in 1560 to house 12 monks who lived in incredibly cramped conditions, their tiny cells having low, narrow doors. Byron mocked the monastery in his poem Childe Harold, referring to recluse Honorius who spent a staggering 36 years here (dying at age 95 in 1596).
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Igreja de São Roque
The dull facade of this 16th-century Jesuit church hides a dazzling interior of gold, marble and Florentine azulejos (traditional tiles) - an elaborate canvas bankrolled by Brazilian riches. The pièce de résistance is the exquisite Capela de São João Baptista, to the left of the altar, a stylistic tussle between classical austerity and decorative hysteria.
Commissioned in 1742 by Portugal's most extravagant king, Dom João V, this chapel was designed and built in Rome over eight years using the most expensive materials possible, including amethyst, alabaster, agate, jade, lapis lazuli and Carrara marble. The four mosaics representing events from the saint's life are as…
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Promontório do Sítio
The Promontório do Sítio, the cliff-top area 110m above the beach, is popular for its tremendous views and, among Portuguese devotees, its mystical associations. According to legend it was here that a long-lost statue of the Virgin and brought back from Nazareth in the 4th century, was finally found in the 18th century.
Even more famously, it's said the Virgin appeared here on a foggy day in 1182. Local nobleman Dom Fuas Roupinho was in pursuit of a deer when the animal disappeared off the edge of the Sítio precipice. Dom Fuas cried out to the Virgin for help and his horse miraculously stopped right at cliff's edge. Dom Fuas built the small Hermida da Memória chapel on…
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Sé
One of Lisbon’s biggest icons is the fortresslike sé, built in 1150 on the site of a mosque soon after Christians recaptured the city from the Moors. It was sensitively restored in the 1930s. Despite the masses outside, the rib-vaulted interior, lit by a rose window, is calm. The treasury showcases religious gems, and the Gothic cloister houses archaeological excavations, including stonework from the 6th century BC, a medieval cistern and the Islamic foundations. Stroll around the cathedral to spy leering gargoyles peeking above the orange trees; the sé looks its best when the late-afternoon sun makes its bricks glow honey-gold.
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Igreja de Jesus
Setúbal’s architectural stunner is the sand-coloured Igreja de Jesus, one of the earliest examples of Manueline architecture, adorned with gargoyles and twirling turrets. The facade, however, is eclipsed by its interior of twisted pillars, like writhing snakes, that spiral upwards to the ceiling. Nebulous-seeming and organic, they are made from pink-tinged Arrábida marble. Around the altar, 18th-century blue-and-white geometric azulejos contrast strikingly with the curling arches of the roof.
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Quinta da Regaleira
This magical villa and gardens is a neo-Manueline extravaganza, dreamed up by Italian opera-set designer, Luigi Manini, under the orders of Brazilian coffee tycoon, António Carvalho Monteiro, aka Monteiro dos Milhões (Moneybags Monteiro). The villa is surprisingly homely inside, despite its ferociously carved fireplaces, frescos and Venetian glass mosaics. Keep an eye out for mythological and Knights Templar symbols.
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Templo Do Sagrado Coração de Jesus
A good reason to visit Viana’s 228m, eucalyptus-clad hill is the fabulously over-the-top, 20th-century, neo-Byzantine Templo do Sagrado Coração de Jesus. You can get a little closer to heaven on its windy, graffiti-covered roof, via an elbow-scrapingly tight stairway (€0.50) – take the entrance marked zimbório (dome) – or the lift (€0.80).
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Igreja de Santo António
The little Igreja de Santo António, bursting with 18th- and 19th-century gilded, carved wood, is a stupendous baroque extravaganza. Beaming cherubs and ripening grapes are much in evidence. The dome and azulejo panels were installed during repairs after the 1755 earthquake.
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Igreja de Misericórdia
The 16th-century Igreja de Misericórdia, opposite the Arco da Vila, has a remarkable Manueline portico, the only remnant of an earlier chapel to withstand the 1755 earthquake.
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Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré
The 17th-century, baroque Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré replaced an earlier church, and is decorated with attractive Dutch azulejos.
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Igreja de Santo Ildefonso
The gracefully baroque Igreja de Santo Ildefonso sits on the Praça da Batalha.
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