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GPS 38.714964553045576, -9.127643570434417

The Church and Monastery of São Vicente de Fora, is located in the historic district of São Vicente (Lisbon), in the city and District of Lisbon, in Portugal.

History It dates back to a church, begun in 1582 in the place where D. Afonso Henriques had ordered the construction of a primitive temple also under the invocation of São Vicente. This saint was proclaimed patron saint of Lisbon in 1173, when his relics were transferred from the Algarve to a church outside the city walls.

Construction only began in 1590 by the architect and engineer Filippo Terzi (1520 - 1597) according to a design by the Spanish architect Juan de Herrera (1530 - 1597). Another prominent figure in the work of São Vicente de Fora is undoubtedly the Portuguese architect Baltasar Álvares. The latter takes with him an erudite learning of Roman Mannerism acquired through his Portuguese architect and engineer uncle Afonso Álvares (15??-1580). Thus was born a new architectural style in Portugal that would serve as a model in the following religious constructions. The work was completed in 1627.

The church of São Vicente de Fora, located in the area of ​​São Vicente (Lisbon), an area that identifies the context of the medieval surroundings of the city of Lisbon in the 16th century.

It is an example of Mannerism in Portugal. It is possible to identify in this church the presence of Gothic and Baroque styles. Due to the strong military and religious presence, Portuguese architecture, to a certain extent, was censored, maintaining the principles of previous styles.

It is considered the great architectural work of the Philippine Dynasty and served as a model in the following religious constructions. It was built outside the walls, and for that reason the name of São Vicente de Fora appears.

The church and monastery have a notable artistic content from the 17th century, the time of D. Pedro II and D. João V, recognized for a period that was rich for the arts. It contains pieces of baroque tiles with more than 100 thousand tiles from the baroque period, fables by La Fontaine and some renowned paintings from the 17th century to the end of the 18th century.

On December 4, 1720, João Frederico Ludovice was appointed "Master Architect of the Works of the Royal Monastery of São Vicente de Fora", succeeding the architect Luís Nunes Tinoco:

"(...) D. João, by the grace of God, (...) let those who see this letter of mine know that I would like to do favor to João Frederico Ludovice of the property of Master Architect of the Works of the Royal Monastery from São Vicente de Fora to serve it in this way and in the way that its predecessors served it..." (ANTT) This professional authored the imposing Baroque altar, commissioned by King João V of Portugal, which occupies the center of the Chapel- mor. Placed under the canopy, it rests on four powerful columns. On high plinths stand out eight monumental images, in white painted wood, in the Italian style of the School of Mafra Ludoviciana, representing São Vicente de Fora and São Sebastião, having been executed by Manuel Vieira, to whom the beautiful sculptures of angels, placed over the access doors to the canons' choir.

From the beginning of August 2008 until the 22nd of January 2011, the church was closed to the public due to lack of safety conditions, due to considerable falls of stucco and mortar inside, some weighing more than a kilogram, falling from a height of about twenty meters.

The Church's restoration works destroyed the painted stucco on the ceilings. Part of the operation was authorized by technicians at the service of the State, who understood that there was no justification for redoing the stuccoes, since they were not original at the time of construction of the temple (17th century), but there were areas of this national monument where the Regional Directorate de Cultura de Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, which accompanied the work, ensures that it did not authorize any removal of stucco.

Characteristics

It has a rectangular plan with an Italian-style facade, sober and symmetrical, with a tower on each side and statues of Saints Augustine, Sebastian and Vincent over the entrance.

The imposing facade painted in white is divided horizontally into three parts. The building stands in front of a spacious and open square, the Largo de São Vicente, with a wide, well laid out but simple staircase. The churchyard sees the birth of the first entablature, placing its architrave, frieze and cornice on the capitals of ten tall Doric columns. In the three central intercolumns open the three gates, simple, full turn, surmounted by three niches crowned with attics. In the three niches are Saint Augustine, in the centre, Saint Sebastian on the right and Saint Vincent on the left. In the lateral intercolumns, in line with the others, there are two niches where São Domingos de Gusmão is located on the right and Santo António on the left. The second entablature on the façade has two niches on the uprights, on the right you can see São Norberto and São Bruno on the left. In the center, three majestic and harmonic high windows. The third part of the facade consists of two turrets that rise in showy columns, open with windows, decorated with a platband. From the middle of them emerge two domes. A thirty-three-metre platform, adorned with ornaments, joins the two turrets over the central body. In 1755, its large dome collapsed, a piece that would enhance the symmetrical beauty of the composition.

Inside, the following stand out:

a baroque baldachin by Machado de Castro, above the altar, flanked by life-size wooden statues. a historic organ built in 1765 by organ builder João Fontanes de Maqueira. It is one of the best and largest examples of Portuguese organ work from the 18th century. a transept, wide and of admirable architectural sense, although a little cold in lines, is bordered around by an order of six pilasters, identical to those in the nave. Over it rested the large dome, which collapsed in the earthquake of 1755. Nowadays, a rotunda wooden skylight, torn by eight rectangular windows, somewhat disguises this absence. The adjoining former Augustinian monastery, accessed through the nave, preserves its 16th-century cistern and remains of the former cloister. It also stands out for its 18th-century tile panels: at the entrance, next to the first cloister, scenes of the attacks of D. Afonso Henriques on Lisbon and Santarém by Manuel dos Santos are represented. Around the cloisters, tile panels with rural scenes, surrounded by floral designs and cherubs, illustrate La Fontaine's fables.

Pantheons

Torre Igreja de São Vicente de Fora.TIF The Royal Pantheon of Braganças and the Pantheon of the Patriarchs of Lisbon are located on the premises of the Church.

Historical body

The organ of São Vicente de Fora was built or rebuilt in 1765 by organ builder João Fontanes de Maqueira and restored by Cláudio Rainolter and Christine Vetter in 1994, under the aegis of Lisbon 94, European Capital of Culture, under the supervision of organist Joaquim Simões da Hora.

The first recordings were made, still on LP, by organists Pierre Cochereau (1965), Francis Chapelet (1966) and Geraint Jones (1966). Currently, the following discs have been recorded in CD format:

Jesús Martín Moro (organ), (1998), Tientos y Glosas en Iberia, Ensemble Gilles Binchois, Dominique Vellard, Tempéraments, Radio France, Toulouse les Orgues. Joaquim Simões da Hora (organ), (2002), Joaquim Simões da Hora: In Memoriam. São Vicente de Fora, 18.XII.1994, Portugaler. João Vaz (organ), (2014), Historic Organ (1765) São Vicente de Fora, Lisbon, IFO Classics. José Luiz González Uriol (organ), (2015), José Luiz González Uriol in Lisbon: Iberian Organ, Arkhé Artway. Joaquim Simões da Hora (organ), (2016), Joaquim Simões da Hora: In Concert, Portugaler.

Patio das Laranjeiras

Leaving the church, we went down the stairs. On the left side we have the entrance to the portal to the monastery and we find the Pátio das Laranjeiras, an open atrium that allows us to access the monastery-museum. Here, a feeling of rest is combined with the rhythm of the fountain water singing together with the smell of arbors and the freshness of their shade. The elevation of the monastery is marked by a luminosity that results from being facing west. On this floor is the reception and cafeteria.

There is a passage through a tunnel that takes us to a medieval cistern from the 12th century, located in the west cloister, followed by a metallic walkway where more medieval remains will be visible, further ahead there is the second cistern, this more recent one precisely from the reign of King Filipe III.

At the entrance to the monastery, between the cloisters is the sacristy, its entrance is decorated with a Mannerist portal with decorations with the royal arms, inside we will find polychrome marble coverings and wooden furniture, on the ceiling is decorated with painting from the 18th century, on the floor there are anthropomorphic tombs from the 12th century (knights of D. Afonso Henriques), there are also the tombs of D. Carlos and Dom Luís Filipe, through the east cloister we have access to the upper floor where find the chapel of Santo António.

The roof is entirely composed of a rhythm of pinnacles that refer to the sense of the sacred, where in these spaces of the church we have a breathtaking view over Lisbon riverside.

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