The Church and Monastery of São Vicente de Fora, meaning "Monastery of St. Vincent Outside the Walls", is a 17th-century church and monastery in the city of

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. It is one of the most important monasteries and

mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

buildings in the country. The monastery also contains the royal pantheon of the Braganza monarchs of

History and art

The original Monastery of São Vicente de Fora was founded around 1147 by the first Portuguese King,

Afonso Henriques Afonso I of PortugalOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French inf ...

, for the

Augustinian Order Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

. Built in Romanesque style outside the city walls, it was one of the most important monastic foundations in mediaeval Portugal. It is dedicated to

Saint Vincent of Saragossa Vincent of Saragossa (also known as Vincent Martyr, Vincent of Huesca or Vincent the Deacon), the Protomartyr of Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_m ...

, patron saint of Lisbon, whose relics were brought from the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

to Lisbon in the 12th century. The present buildings are the result of a reconstruction ordered by

King Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, K ...

, who had become King of Portugal (as Philip I) after a

succession crisis A succession crisis is a crisis that arises when an order of succession fails, for example when a king dies without an indisputable heir. It may result in a war of succession. Examples include (see List of wars of succession): *Multiple periods dur ...

in 1580. The church of the monastery was built between 1582 and 1629, while other monastery buildings were finished only in the 18th century. The author of the design of the church is thought to be the Italian Jesuit

Filippo Terzi Filippo Terzi (1520–1597) was an Italian military and civil architect and engineer, born in Bologna, who went to Lisbon in 1577 and the following year joined the disastrous military expedition to Morocco where he was taken prisoner at the Battle ...

and/or the Spaniard

Juan de Herrera Juan de Herrera (1530 – 15 January 1597) was a Spanish architect, mathematician and geometrician. One of the most outstanding Spanish architects in the 16th century, Herrera represents the peak of the Renaissance in Spain. His sober style reac ...

. The plans were followed and modified by ''Leonardo Turriano'', Baltazar Álvares, ''Pedro Nunes Tinoco'' and ''João Nunes Tinoco''. The church of the Monastery has a majestic, austere façade that follows the later

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

style known as

Mannerism Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

. The façade, attributed to Baltazar Álvares, has several niches with statues of saints and is flanked by two towers (a model that would become widespread in Portugal). The lower part of the façade has three arches that lead to the galilee (entrance hall). The

floorplan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to Scale (ratio), scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a struct ...

of the church reveals a Latin cross building with a one-

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

with lateral chapels. The church is covered by

barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

ing and has a huge

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

over the crossing. The general design of the church interior follows that of the prototypic church of The Gesù, in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The beautiful main

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

is a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

work of the 18th century by one of the best Portuguese sculptors, Joaquim Machado de Castro. It has the shape of a

baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over h ...

and is decorated with a large number of statues. The church also boasts several fine altarpieces in the lateral chapels. The Monastery buildings are reached through a magnificent baroque portal, located beside the church façade. Inside, the entrance is decorated with blue-white, 18th century

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...

s that tell the history of the Monastery, including scenes of the

Siege of Lisbon The siege of Lisbon, from 1 July to 25 October 1147, was the military action that brought the city of Lisbon under definitive Portuguese control and expelled its Moorish overlords. The siege of Lisbon was one of the few Christian victories of ...

in 1147. The ceiling of the room has an illusionistic painting executed in 1710 by the Italian ''Vincenzo Baccarelli''. The

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

of the Monastery is exuberantly decorated with polychromed marble and painting. The

cloisters A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

are also notable for the 18th century tiles that recount fables of

La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his '' Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Eu ...

, among other themes.

Braganza Pantheon

In 1834, after the

Dissolution of the monasteries in Portugal The dissolution of the monasteries in Portugal was a nationalization of the property of male monastic orders effected by a decree of 28 May 1834 enacted by Joaquim António de Aguiar at the conclusion of the Portuguese Civil War. Portugal thus ter ...

, the monastery was transformed into a palace for the archbishops of Lisbon. Some decades later,

King Ferdinand II Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...

transformed the monks' old

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the La ...

into a

pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...

for the kings of the House of Braganza. Their tombs were transferred from the main chapel to this room.

References

* Portuguese Institute for Architectural Heritag

* General Bureau for National Buildings and Monuments (Portugal

External links

{{coord, 38, 42, 53, N, 9, 07, 40, W, type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Religious buildings and structures completed in 1629 Roman Catholic churches in Lisbon Portuguese monarchy Baroque architecture in Portugal National monuments in Lisbon District 1629 establishments in Portugal Burial sites of the Portuguese royal houses Burial sites of the House of Braganza Burial sites of the House of Wittelsbach Burial sites of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Burial sites of the House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Burial sites of the House of Orléans Burial sites of the House of Bourbon Burial sites of the House of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg Burial sites of the House of Beauharnais Burial sites of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen