Text
provided by the Portuguese Tourist Office (with minimal
corrections)
The Mosteiro
dos Jerónimos and the Torre de Belém are the
supreme architectural representatives of a period in which
the Portuguese nation played a leading role, expanding the
horizons of both Europe and the world. They were erected
symbolically in Belém, which, in the sixteenth century,
was the site of the port from which the caravelas and other
large ships set sail on the great voyages of the Portuguese
maritime discoveries. Today, now that both the port and
beach have disappeared, the site has become a pleasant leisure
area. A
small chapel - Santa Maria de Belém - was built here
at the behest of Prince Henry the Navigator on the site
where the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos now stands. The
monastery was itself commissioned by D. Manuel I.
The magnificence of the building reflects the universalist
vision of its founder and the powerful financial resources
that the Portuguese crown then enjoyed. The
sixteenth century in Portugal was profoundly connected to
the Discoveries and the Messianic idea of the Empire, inspiring
a unique style that came to be known as ''Manueline'', since
it was developed in the reign of D. Manuel I. The decorative
features carved out of the monastery' s stone (many of which,
such as ropes, fish and conches, were inspired by the sea)
should be studied carefully for they are perhaps the most
stimulating way of discovering more about this unique contribution
that Portugal made to the art of stonework.
The monument's original design is the work of the architect
Boytac, and its construction began in I502. This was the
initial phase of building work that was to be continued
by other Masters, namely João de Castilho and, in
the middle of the century, Diogo de Torralva. Begin
by observing the south-facing façade, whose main
feature of interest is the portal, the work of João
de Castilho, surmounted by a tympanum of carved stone, including
low reliefs showing scenes from the life of St. Jerome and
the royal coat of arms. In the centre is a statue of Prince
Henry the Navigator wielding a sword and, at the upper level,
a statue of Our Lady of Belém, covered by a finely
carved canopy. The whole of the portal seems to be physically
raising itself skywards, with the figure of the Archangel
Gabriel, Portugal's guardian angel, at the very top. The
statues on the west portal are the work of the sculptor
Nicolau de Chanterenne. On the left is a statue of D. Manuel
I. The king is protected by St. Jerome, and, on the right,
stands his wife, Queen D. Maria, protected by Sr. John the
Baptist. Three groups of sculptures in the upper niches
depict scenes relating to Christ's birth: On the keystone
of the arch, two angels support the shield of Portugal.
In the lower section are magnificent representations of
the four Evangelists, St. Vincent, and the Holy Prince,
D. Fernando, the brother of Prince Henry the Navigator.
This is the door that leads into the church, under the gallery
of the ''coro alto'' or upper choir. In this space are the
cenotaphs of Luis de Camões, the universal poet who
so brilliantly described the great Portuguese exploits in
his epic poem ''Os Lusíadas'' (the Lusiads), and
Vasco da Gama, the commander of the fleet that set sail
for India in I497, for the very first time in history. Beyond
these tombs lies the spacious and beautiful hall church,
designed by the architect João de Castilho, with
its spectacular network vaulting that has no arches and
is supported on finely carved columns. In the vast transept,
the vaulting seems to be suspended from the sky, for there
is no column supporting it at all!
The chapels on the left and right contain the tombs of the
kings and princes who descended from D. Manuel I. In the
chancel, which was later reconstructed by Jerónimo
de Ruão in the classical style, are the tombs of'
D. Manuel I, D. João III and their wives, each of
them supported by two elephants with ivory tusks. Particularly
impressive is the way in which marble from Borba and Estremoz
has been used in the making of the 32 columns, arranged
in pairs until the semi-circle of the altar is closed, as
well as the solid silver sacrarium, a magnificent example
of the Portuguese goldsmith's art from the middle of the
seventeenth century. The
cloister immediately gives the Impression of a perfectly-proportioned
space, which finds its natural complement in the decorative
exuberance of the stone. Each of the galleries opens onto
the central space through four arches supported by slender
columns entirely decorated with plant motifs and surmounted
by escutcheons with Manueline emblems. In one of these galleries
is a small symbolic monument with very simple shapes, containing
in such an emblematic space the remains of the great poet
of the Portuguese land, sea and sky, Fernando Pessoa. You
should also notice how the four corners of the cloisters
have been cut at an oblique angle. This is a highly original
feature, for normally the galleries of cloisters have right
angles for their corners. The
various monastic rooms open onto the cloister, notably the
refectory and the chapter house (this latter building dating
from the nineteenth century). Their ceilings, just like
those of the cloister have ribbed lierne and tierceron vaulting
with stone bosses. To finish off your visit, it is well
worth going up to the ''coro alto'' to see the beautiful
monastic choir stalls, a remarkable work of carved oak and
chestnut
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