An Architectural Patchwork
Lisbon Cathedral (Sé de Lisboa)
In 1150, King Afonso built a large Cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to celebrate the triumph of Christianity over Islam. For this reason he chose to construct the new grandiose temple on the site occupied by the former Moorish mosque. Time and violent earthquakes wrecked the building, and what we see today is a fusion of styles, of which the most apparent is the Romanesque idiom that prevails in the facade. Once inside, you can admire the renovated nave and the ambulatory with its nine Gothic chapels and the tombs of King Afonso IV and Lopo Fernandes Pacheco, a distinguished Portuguese nobleman and personal counsellor of the King, both buried next to their wives. Another highlight can be seen to the left of the entrance, in a Franciscan chapel home to the font where St. Anthony, the patron of Portugal, was baptized. The font features a beautiful tile decoration depicting the saint preaching to fish.
As seen on
Lisbon City Tour: The Many Colours of Nostalgia
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