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Igreja de São Vicente de Fora

Alfama

Churches & Religious Sites

Igreja de São Vicente de Fora stands at Largo de São Vicente, 1100-572 Lisboa, on a hill next to Alfama and Graça. The church belongs to a larger complex that also holds an Augustinian monastery, a museum of sacred art and the Royal Pantheon of the Braganza Dynasty. The name, meaning St. Vincent on the Outside, refers to the original church of 1147, which was built outside the city walls. The site grew out of a vow by Portugal's first king to build churches where crusaders from Portugal and northern Europe were buried. The present monastery dates from a reconstruction begun in 1582 by the Spanish architect Juan Herrera, who also designed the Escorial outside Madrid. Its Italian mannerist style served as a model for Portuguese religious architecture, influencing churches across the empire, from Brazil to Macau. The building originally had a dome, but it collapsed onto worshippers during the 1755 earthquake and was never rebuilt. The cloisters are richly decorated with baroque tiles, and the complex is also described as holding a large collection of 18th-century azulejos, the blue-and-white Portuguese ceramic tiles. Among them are 38 panels illustrating the fables of La Fontaine, created by Policarpo de Oliveira Bernardes between 1740 and 1750. Other panels show scenes from the history of Portugal, including the siege of Lisbon in 1147. There is also an ancient cistern. The pantheon of the Bragança dynasty includes the marble tomb of Catherine of Bragança, a Portuguese princess who married King Charles II in 1662 and so became queen of England. The main tomb is that of Carlos I, the next-to-last king of Portugal, who was assassinated shortly before Portugal turned into a republic. A life-size statue of a weeping woman, her hands covering her face, stands over it. Visitors can climb to the rooftop to get close to the towers and look out over Alfama, the river and the National Pantheon. Admission is €4.00 and is not covered by the Lisboa Card. The listed opening hours are Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00 and Sunday from 10:00 to 19:30, although one guide says the monastery is closed on Mondays. Tram 28 stops right outside, at the stop called Voz do Operário, and holders of the Lisboa Card ride it for free. You can also walk from the Portas do Sol viewpoint by following the tram tracks. Behind the monastery are the National Pantheon and the site of a flea market, held on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. Further up the hill along the tram tracks is the Graça viewpoint.

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