Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
12
Bem Belém
C1
C1
14
Este Oeste
A2
(see 8)
B2
C1
Entertainment
A2
Mosteiro dos Jerónimos
MONASTERY
(
www.mosteirojeronimos.pt
;
Praça do Império; admission €7; 10am-6.30pm Tue-Sun)
Belém's undisputed
heart-stealer is this Unesco-listed monastery. The
mosteiro
is the stuff of pure fantasy; a
fusion of Diogo de Boitaca's creative vision and the spice and pepper dosh of Manuel I,
who commissioned it to trumpet Vasco da Gama's discovery of a sea route to India in
1498.
Wrought for the glory of God, Jerónimos was once populated by monks of the Order of
St Jerome, whose spiritual job for four centuries was to comfort sailors and pray for the
king's soul. When the order was dissolved in 1833, the monastery was used as a school
and orphanage until about 1940.
Entering the church through the western portal, you'll notice tree-trunk-like columns
that seem to grow into the ceiling, which is itself a spiderweb of stone. Windows cast a
soft golden light over the church. Superstar Vasco da Gama is interred in the lower
chancel, just left of the entrance, opposite venerated 16th-century poet Luís Vaz de
Camões. From the upper choir, there's a superb view of the church; the rows of seats are
Portugal's first Renaissance woodcarvings.
There's nothing like the moment you walk into the honey-stone Manueline cloisters,
dripping with organic detail in their delicately scalloped arches, twisting auger-shell tur-
rets and columns intertwined with leaves, vines and knots. It's just wow. Keep an eye out
for symbols of the age like the armillary sphere and the cross of the Military Order, plus
gargoyles and fantastical beasties on the upper balustrade.
