The Church of the Monastery of St Vincent Outside the Walls, Igreja de São Vicente de Fora, Lisbon, Portugal
In the Alfama area of Lisbon is the culturally significant church dedicated to St Vincent. The original monastery was founded by Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, and was dedicated to St Vincent of Saragossa, the patron saint of Lisbon, whose relics were brought to the city in the 12th century. It was built outside the walls – hence the name de Fora – and became an important monastic centre in Portugal.
The church is in itself quite plain, but the side altars are all heavy baroque – both the church and monastery are apparently important examples of 17th century Portuguese Mannerist design, but I am mainly writing about the church because I was being cheap and we didn’t go into the monastery. However, it would be interesting to visit next time, because it contains the tombs of the royal Braganzas.
With Philip II of Spain becoming King of Portugal in 1580, the church was rebuilt, and while it was completed in 1627, the monastery buildings weren’t finished until the 18th century. Designed by a Jesuit, Filippo Terzi, and Baltasar Álvares, the church was inspired by the architecturally influential Il Gesù, in Rome. As the mother church of the Jesuit order, Il Gesù naturally spawned its own new style which was reinterpreted in countless churches in Portugal and its territories – and elsewhere across the Catholic world.
It was very dark in the church, so my pictures are pretty bad – still, hopefully they’ll give you an idea of the place.
There was once a big dome above the crossing, where there is now a strange design with eight windows and a cobbled-together look about it. The original dome collapsed in the 1755 earthquake and I gather this replacement is made out of wood.
The baroque main altar was commissioned by João V of Portugal in the 18th century, and is by the famous Machado de Castro. It’s ornate, but strangely not as much as the side altars.
So In Summary
While I found the church quite interesting, I wasn’t as impressed by it as I had expected to be by such a famous and historically significant building. Perhaps I would have had a different impression of it if I’d actually visited the monastery as well. It made quite a contrast to the cathedral, which seemed even more dignified after this visit.
Further Information
Entry into the church is free, but there is a fee to enter the monastery.
How To Get There
I found the Lisbon transport system somewhat unfriendly. It’s not bad, but I just had problems with it during my stay. However, their transport is run by these people, and their site is English: www.carris.pt
No Comments