Chinese Opera, A Ópera Chinesa, Museum of the Orient, Lisbon, Portugal I am fortunate enough to have visited a number of wonderful exhibitions in my time, but only a few of them have had a profound effect on my life. This one on Chinese Opera at the Museum of the Orient is in my top five most influential exhibitions. On the…
Museum of the Orient, Museu do Oriente, Lisbon, Portugal When creating a list of museums to visit in Lisbon, I wasn’t that bothered about getting to the Museum of the Orient. There were other priorities. On our last day in the city, I decided to go here first, spend a few hours, and hop on to another place nearby. We stayed…
…continued from Part One… This part of the series on the National Museum of Ancient Art will focus on the European works by some well known, and some less well known, painters – before moving onto art from those countries that Portugal traded with in the East. Spanish Works There are a few Italian paintings in the museum, as…
National Museum of Ancient Art, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon, Portugal Sometimes I worry that maybe I’ve become a bit jaded – maybe I visit too many museums, and maybe that’s why I don’t always find them as exciting as I hope. But no. It’s not me: it’s them. Before going any further, I should clarify for the English…
Church of Santa Engrácia, Igreja de Santa Engrácia, Lisbon, Portugal There is an old joke in Portugal; if something is never completed, it’s like the Santa Engrácia works (Obras de Santa Engrácia). The poor Santa Engrácia. Construction started in 1681… and wasn’t finished until 1966. That is quite an achievement in procrastination. There is a legend explaining why the church was so…
Church of St Mary of Belém, Igreja Sta. Maria Belém, Lisbon, Portugal The first view you get of the inside of the church is from the viewing platform at the back, which you reach from the staircase leading to the second floor of the cloisters of the Jerónimos Monastery. You look down on the nave and get to really appreciate…
Jerónimos Monastery, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Lisbon, Portugal One of most famous sites of Lisbon is the Jerónimos Monastery – a late Gothic “Manueline” style building that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s big. It’s grand. It’s odd. The monastery was built on a site occupied by a church dedicated to Santa Maria de Belém. Its monks were members of the Order of Christ…
Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal While America is littered with museums built around the varied collections of their millionaire founders, this sort of thing is much rarer in Europe. The Armenian Calouste Gulbenkian, who made his fortune from oil, put his money to good use and amassed an amazing little collection of objects from across the ages which…
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,…
The Church of St Anthony of Lisbon, Igreja de Santo António de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal When I was about seventeen, I briefly visited Padua in Italy, and visited the church of St Anthony. I don’t really remember it, but I can still vividly recall the feeling of utter disgust when looking at the reliquaries displaying parts of his body. I’d…
Lisbon Cathedral, Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa (Patriarchal Cathedral of St Mary Major), Lisbon, Portugal Most cathedrals that I have visited have fairly grand entrances – there’s a bit of a square or a space where you can stand and be in awe of the majesty of the place. Lisbon doesn’t go for that. You sort of creep up on it. Round…
The Maritime Museum, Museu de Marinha, Lisbon, Portugal Portugal has such an awesome maritime history that I was really looking forward to visiting the museum dedicated to it. Situated in the western wing of the Jerónimos Monastery down at Belém, the setting also seemed pretty perfect for learning more about the amazing Portuguese explorers of the past. In fact, the history of…