Igreja de São Vicente da Fora

Description:

• Constructed in the Italian mannerist style and overseen by architect Filippo Terzi, the church you see today was completed in 1627 and built partly over the site of a 12th-century monastery. Severely damaged in the 1755 earthquake, the building was carefully repaired and is recognised for its landmark towers positioned over a chalk white symmetrical façade. The adjoining former Augustinian monastery is celebrated for its peaceful cloisters. Richly decorated with early 18th-century blue and white azulejos (tiles), one panel illustrates the fables of La Fontaine. Elsewhere, housed in the old refectory behind the church, is the royal pantheon of the Bragança family, where the stone sarcophagi of almost every king and queen of Portugal lie. Particularly poignant are the twin tombs of Carlos I and his son Luís Felipe, both assassinated in 1908. After this history overload, visitors can head upstairs onto a rooftop terrace and soak in views of the River Tagus and the terracotta rooftops of Alfama.
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