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[Asian Nicole]

Hello Gentlemen,

The Jerónimos Monastery is one of the most prominent examples of the late Portuguese Gothic Manueline style of architecture in Lisbon. It was erected in the early 1500s near the launch point of Vasco da Gama's first journey, and its construction funded by a tax on the profits of the yearly Portuguese India Armadas.

In 1880, Vasco da Gama's remains and those of the poet Luís de Camões (who celebrated da Gama's first voyage in his 1572 epic poem The Lusiad), were moved to new carved tombs in the nave of the monastery's church, only a few meters away from the tombs of the kings Manuel I and John III, whom da Gama had served. In 1983, the Jerónimos Monastery was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the nearby Tower of Belém.

This alabaster tomb of India Discoverer Vasco da Gama is to see in the church Santa Maria in Monastery of St. Jeronimos. Vasco da Gama discovered the maritime route to India in 1498.​

 

[Asian Nicole]

Hello Gentlemen,

The monastery was designed in a manner that later became known as Manueline: a richly ornate architectural style with complex sculptural themes incorporating maritime elements and objects discovered during naval expeditions, carved in limestone. Diogo de Boitaca, the architect, pioneered this style in the Monastery of Jesus in Setúbal. Boitaca was responsible for drawing the plans and contracting work on the monastery, the sacristy, and the refectory. For its construction he used calcário de lioz, a gold-coloured limestone quarried from Ajuda, the valley of Alcántara etc.

Boitaca was succeeded by the Spaniard Juan de Castillo, who took charge of construction around 1517. Castilho gradually moved from the Manueline to the Spanish Plateresque style, an ornamentation that included lavish decorations suggesting the decorative features of silverware.

 

[Asian Nicole]

 

[Asian Nicole]

Hello Gentlemen,

On 16 July 1604, Philip of Spain made the monastery a royal funerary monument, prohibiting anyone but the royal family and the Hieronymite monks from entering the building. A new portal was constructed in 1625, as well as the cloister door, the house of the doorkeepers, a staircase and a hall that was the entrance to the upper choir designed by the royal architect Teodósio Frias and executed by the mason Diogo Vaz. In 1640, the prior Bento de Siqueira ordered construction of the monastery's library, where books owned by the Infante Luís (son of King Manuel I) and others linked to the religious order were deposited.

 

[Asian Nicole]

Hello Gentlemen,

Located in the historic Belém district of Lisbon, "Pastéis de Belém" is the legendary 1837 bakery where the world-famous pastel de nata (Portuguese custard tart) originated. Tarts cost roughly €1.5 each and are served warm, featuring flaky, blistered pastry and a creamy custard, best enjoyed with a dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar.

The original, closely guarded recipe—dating back to the monks of the nearby Jerónimos Monastery—makes this a globally renowned dessert destination. Though you will find similar tarts (often referred to as pastéis de nata elsewhere), fans and food critics generally agree on Pastéis de Belém as the ultimate, authentic pilgrimage. It holds its place as one of the top must-visit food spots in the city.

Today, I had fabulous dessert first, then delicious dinner.

 

[Asian Nicole]

Hello Gentlemen,

The 37-meter-long refectory at Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon was built in 1517-1518 by master builder Leonardo Vaz. It is a masterpiece of Manueline architecture, featuring a multi-ribbed vaulted ceiling and 18th-century azulejo (painted tile) panels depicting biblical scenes.

The monastic dining hall is one of the key highlights of the complex, notable for several historical and artistic features:​

• Manueline Architecture: Designed by Leonardo Vaz, the 37-meter by 9-meter hall displays the quintessential thick stone ropes and intricate vaulting of the Manueline period. ​
• Azulejo Tiles: The lower walls are lined with tiles dating from 1780 to 1785 that depict the Miracle of the Bread and the Fish (north end) and the life of Joseph in Egypt (side walls). ​
• The Wooden Pulpit: Facing the windows, you will find a small wooden pulpit where scriptures and the lives of the saints were read aloud to the monks while they ate in silence. ​
• Art: You can explore a historic 17th-century painting of Saint Jerome. ​

 

[Asian Nicole]

Hello Gentlemen,

Afonso de Albuquerque Square is a public square in the Belém district of the city of Lisbon.

The square is located in front of Belém Palace, an early 18th-century palace that nowadays serves as residence for the President of Portugal. The square is named after the Second Governor of Portuguese India Afonso de Albuquerque, and offers views of Belém Palace. It has a monument, in neo-Manueline style, by artists Silva Pinto and Costa Mota tio, inaugurated in 1902. The monument carries a bronze statue of Afonso de Albuquerque and has reliefs about his life.

The site of the square used to be a harbour, built in 1753. In 1807, Queen Mary I, Prince John VI and the royal family fled Lisbon from this harbour to Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, to escape the Napoleonic troops which had invaded Portugal.

The Albuquerque monument in front of the Belém Palace

 

[Asian Nicole]

Hello Gentlemen,

Lisbon Cathedral - The Cathedral of Saint Mary Major, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is the oldest church in the city, built in 1147. The cathedral has survived many earthquakes and has been modified, renovated and restored several times, resulting in a mix of different architectural styles. It is the seat of the Patriarchate of Lisbon, and has been classified as a National Monument since 1910.

The cathedral is in the shape of a Latin cross with three aisles, a transept and a main chapel surrounded by an ambulatory. The church is connected with a cloister on the eastern side. The main façade of the cathedral looks like a fortress, with two towers flanking the entrance and crenellations over the walls. This menacing appearance, also seen in other Portuguese cathedrals of the time, is a relic from the Reconquista period, when the cathedral may have been used as a base to attack the enemy during a siege.

 

[Asian Nicole]

Hello Gentlemen,

During the 17th century a fine sacristy was built in Baroque architectural style and, after 1755, the main chapel was rebuilt in neoclassical and Rococo styles (including the tombs of King Afonso IV and his family). Machado de Castro, Portugal's foremost sculptor in the late 18th century, is the author of a magnificent crib in the Gothic chapel of Bartomoleu Joanes. In the beginning of the 20th century, much of the neoclassical decoration from outside and inside of the cathedral was removed to give the cathedral a more "mediaeval" appearance.

Gothic tomb of knight Lopo Fernandes Pacheco, 7th Lord of Ferreira de Aves, in the ambulatory of Lisbon Cathedral.

Tomb of Maria de Vilalobos

Turkish rug
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[Asian Nicole]

Hello Gentlemen,

From its first building period (1147 until the first decades of the 13th century), Lisbon cathedral has preserved the West façade with a rose window, the main portal, the North lateral portal and the nave of the cathedral. The portals have interesting sculptured capitals with Romanesque motifs. The nave is covered by barrel vaulting and has an upper, arched gallery. Light gets in through the rose windows of the West façade and transept, the narrow windows of the lateral aisles of the nave as well as the windows of the lantern tower of the transept.

View of the Romanesque lateral aisle of the Lisbon Cathedral.

Gothic cloister of Lisbon Cathedral. Each oculum over the twin arches has a different tracery pattern.​

 

[Asian Nicole]

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[Asian Nicole]

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[Asian Nicole]

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