PORTUGAL: Convent of Christ in Tomar

Received thanx to Lidia.

The Convent of Tomar, originally conceived as a symbolic monument of the Reconquest, became, from the Manueline period, an inverse symbol: that of the opening of Portugal to external civilizations.

During the second half of the 12th century, the Knights Templar were called to Portugal where they were of considerable assistance in the Reconquest. Their first and principal fortress was Tomar. When, in the 14th century, the Order of the Knights Templar was abolished and replaced by the Knights of the Order of Christ, Tomar lost none of its importance. Successive embellishments rendered it one of the most prestigious monuments of Portugal.

The original church, built at the end of the 12th century by the first great Master of the Templars, Gualdim Pais, was based on a polygonal ground plan of 16 bays including an octagonal choir with ambulatory: this is one of the typical 'rotondas' of Templar architecture of which all too few examples are still extant in Europe.

Cloisters were added at different periods: that of the cemetery, constructed to the north-east of the rotunda around 1430 by Infante Don Henrique, employed pointed arches of a sober, elegant Gothic style.

The Manueline influence was, as elsewhere, decisive and compelling: it was under King Manuel that Diego de Arruda was commissioned to create the enormous choir based on a square plan with a tribune raised above the chapter-room. The elevations of these two storeys are marked on the exterior by two renowned bays, a window and an oculus, whose prodigious decor combines with stupefying ease Gothic reminiscences and Moorish influences, offering the most accomplished expression of the Manueline decorative style.

Other cloisters and new monastic buildings were constructed under João III by João de Castilho which, at Tomar as at Belém, were not insensitive to Italian influence. The evolution terminated in the second half of the century in the cloister of the 'Philips', the principal cloister, modified by Diego de Torralva, and finished by F. Terzi: the facades are set into rhythm by a magnificent Palladian ordering of two storeys of Corinthian and Tuscan columns.

PORTUGAL: Historic Centre of Guimarães

Received thanx to Lidia.

The castle of Guimaraes.

    The historic centre is formed by a large number of stone constructions (950-1498). The period from Renaissance to neoclassicism is characterized by noble houses and the development of civic facilities, city squares, etc. The eclectic and industrial periods and modern expansion (1926 until today) include some changes, although the town has maintained its medieval urban layout. The systems and building types have evolved over time. The residential buildings are characterized by the use of two construction techniques, one dating from before the 16th century (taipa de rodízio ), a half-timbered structure, which mixed granite with a structure in timber and a filling of sun-dried brick, using clay mortar. The other (taipa de fasquio ), which came into use in the 19th century and is still practised today, was entirely in timber. From here this technology was exported to other parts of the world.

The monuments include the medieval castle, built on the site of the first fort of the 10th century. The present construction was built from stone, begun at the time of Afonso I and continued with various modifications in the following centuries. The building is an austere crenellated structure with towers, designed for defence. Part of it was demolished in the 18th century and since then it has been subject to restorations. Close to the castle, there is a small Romanesque church, São Miguel do Castelo, ruined in the 19th century and restored in the 1920s. The church of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira was founded in the 12th century on the site where the first monastery had existed some three centuries earlier. It was completely renovated from 1387 to 1413, with three naves and a wooden roof structure, according to the Portuguese Gothic model. The cloister was added in the 16th century and the present sanctuary to the church in the 17th.

The Palace of the Dukes of Bragança is a large complex built from stone down the hill from the castle. The first construction dates from 1420-22, most probably under French influence. The building was conceived as a symbol of the pride of the Bragança family. The building underwent various vicissitudes, serving as a military headquarters in the late 19th century. The Town Hall, in the square in front of the church of Nossa Senhora, dates mainly from the 16th and 17th centuries. The palace, primarily in stone, has one main floor with large doors opening to a balcony along the main facade. The ground floor is characterized by open arcades. In the same square, in front of the church, there is also a 14th-century Gothic arch, a monument commemorating the victory of Dom Afonso IV in the battle of Padrão do Salado.

The bourgeois houses of the 16th century have a ground floor in granite and the upper floors are built using the half-timbered structure of taipa de rodízio . The houses of noble families have often been an modification of a previous structure, and generally have their elevations built from granite as a sign of distinction. The typical houses of the 17th century continued using the same construction technique (granite in the ground floor and half-timbered structure in the upper floors - usually three). Another type of house of the same century was built with a peristyle and arcaded ground floor, and is usually found in public squares.

PORTUGAL: Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon

Received thanx to Lidia.

Torre de Belem


Standing at the entrance to Lisbon harbour, the Monastery of the Hieronymites – construction of which began in 1502 – exemplifies Portuguese art at its best. The nearby Tower of Belém, built to commemorate Vasco da Gama's expedition, is a reminder of the great maritime discoveries that laid the foundations of the modern world.

PORTUGAL: Historic Centre of Oporto

Ribeira Quay

   Oporto is of outstanding universal value as the urban fabric and its many historic buildings bear remarkable testimony to the development over the past 1,000 years of a European city that looks outward to the West for its cultural and commercial links.

   The historic centre of is a townscape of high aesthetic value, with evidence of urban development from the Roman, medieval, and Almadas periods. The rich and varied civil architecture of the historic centre expresses the cultural values of succeeding periods - Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, neoclassical and modern. The active social and institutional tissue of the town ensures its survival as a living historic centre. Military, commercial, agricultural, and demographic interests converged here to shelter a population capable of building the city. It is a collective work, not accomplished at a particular moment but the result of successive contributions. One of the most relevant aspects of Oporto is its scenic character, resulting from the complexity of the landform, the harmonious articulation of its roads, and the dialogue with the river. It also represents a successful interaction between the social and geographical environment.

   Oporto lent support to the expeditions organized by Henry the Navigator (who was born in the town) in the early 15th century. English entrepreneurs invested in the vineyards of the Douro valley, to supply the huge English market, and Oporto, as the port for the export of these wines, benefited greatly, as the wealth of Baroque buildings in the town attests. The citizens reacted against Pombal's creation of the Companhia do Alto Douro, designed to end the English monopoly. Oporto was the birthplace of the Liberal Revolution in 1820, which led to the adoption by the monarchy of the Seminal Constitution of 1822. During the 19th century, the town centre moved from the banks of the river to the new developments around the Praça da Liberdade: Gustav Eiffel designed the railway bridge across the river (1875), and many new buildings were constructed.
  Received thanx to Lidia.

PORTUGAL: Monastery of Batalha

  Constructed in fulfilment of a vow by King João to commemorate the victory over the Castilians at Aljubarrota (15 August 1385), the Dominican monastery of Batalha is one of the great masterpieces of Gothic art. The majority of the monumental complex dates from the reign of João I, when the church (finished in 1416), the royal cloister, the chapter-house, and the funeral chapel of the founder were constructed.

    Following a brief interruption, work was begun again under King Duarte on the prolongation of the choir, the construction of his funerary chapel and that of his descendants, a spacious edifice based an octagonal plan that the death of the king in 1438 left unfinished. The design has been attributed to the English architect Master Huguet. The chapel's floor plan consists of an octagonal space inserted inside a square, creating two separate volumes that combine most harmoniously. The ceiling consists of an eight-point star-shaped lantern. The most dramatic feature is to be found in the centre of the chapel: the enormous medieval tomb of Dom João I and his wife, Queen Philippa of Lancaster, the first tomb for husband and wife made in Portugal, on which are carved the coats of arms of the Houses of Avis and Lancaster. Bays in the chapel walls contain the tombs of their sons, among them Prince Henry the Navigator.

   The church's interior refers back to the period of sober Gothic majesty that has remained undisturbed by later additions. The nave and aisles are separated by thick pillars crowned by capitals with plant motifs. The chancel windows, decorated with beautiful 16th century stained-glass windows representing the Visitation, the Adoration of the Magi, the Flight into Egypt and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, project a diffused light that gives the church a feeling of great spirituality.

     The last great period of Batalha coincided with the reign of Manuel I, who built the monumental vestibule and the principal portal, and restored the royal cloister, built in the reign of Dom João I. The arches overlooking the garden were built later and are embellished with finely carved tracery displaying the emblems of Dom Manuel I, the Cross of the Order of Christ and the armillary sphere. In the galleries are doors leading to the various rooms of the former monastery, beginning with the large Chapter House, a marvellous example of the pointed arches of Gothic architecture, in which the enormous vaulted ceiling has no central supports.

  Received thanx to Lidia.