PORTO - Portugal - page 339

to Porto to paint the cathedral's sacristy and soon became the city's most influential archi-
tect.
Look at the chapel just left of the high altar. Inside is a dreamy, carved-and-painted
limestone statue of the Lady of Vendôme, brought to Porto in the 14th century by monks
from France. It originally stood at the fortified gate of the city and remains close to the
hearts of the townsfolk. Just left of the Lady of Vendôme is the Silver Altar of the Holy
Sacrament (circa 1700)—1,500 pounds of silver. When French troops under Napoleon
pillaged Porto, the townspeople plastered over the altar to hide it.
The cloister and its adjacent rooms are worth the time and entrance fee. The cloister's
walls are decorated with elaborate azulejo tiles illustrating the amorous poetry of the
Bible's “Song of Songs.” (The €0.50 pamphlet is skimpy, but the €5 English guidebook
explains it all, including the text that inspired the azulejos. ) The adjacent Chapel of St.
Vincent, with 17th-century painted carvings of Bible scenes, has a trapdoor into a crypt,
where centuries of bishops' bones were ultimately tossed. Upstairs, the richly ornamen-
ted chapter room is where the bishop and his gang met in the 17th century to wield their
religious and secular power. Note the holy figures depicted on the ceiling and the fine city
views from the windows.
Near the Cathedral —In the cathedral's small square, you'll find a fine view of the old
town, the Baroque spiral pillory (20th-century copy) where harsh justice was once doled
out, and the massive Bishop's Palace, still the home of the bishop and his offices. The
immensity of this 18th-century building reflects the bishop's past power. It dominates the
skyline of Porto. A surviving gate from Porto's two-mile-long wall, which protected the
city in the 14th century, currently houses the ATC/Porto Tours office (see here ) .
Facing the cathedral, walk around to the left to the statue of Vímara Peres, a Christian
warrior who reconquered this region from the Moors in 868. (It was lost again within two
generations, and remained under Muslim control until the final reconquest in about 1100.)
From here, survey the city and find the church with the blue facade in the distance. São
Bento Station is just to its right, and the tarnished copper dome of the City Hall breaks
the skyline above it. Below you spreads the seedy district called Sé (meaning “cathedral,”
it refers to the Se at of the Catholic Church). This neighborhood, the oldest in town, is
run-down and depopulating; the government is encouraging people to move in by luring
them with economic incentives. The streets beyond the medieval gate—once a ratatouille
of drug users and prostitutes—twist their way down into the Ribeira district.
Walk 300 yards up the street behind the cathedral on Rua de Saraiva de Carvalho to
a leafy square (Primeiro Dezembro) and through the arched doorway to the Santa Clara
church. Step inside to view its Baroque interior, decorated with carved wood and lots of
gold leaf. Exit the church and go right, through another gate (Instituta Nacional Saude),
walking straight ahead toward the concrete wall. On your left, you will see the impressive