Church in Lisbon
The
Church of Santa Engracia
(
Portuguese
:
Igreja de Santa Engracia
,
pronounced
[i???e??
ð?
?s??t?
????asi?]
) is a 17th-century monument in
Lisbon
,
Portugal
. Originally a church, it was converted into the
National Pantheon
(
Panteao Nacional
,
pronounced
[p??ti???w
n?siu?nal]
), in which important Portuguese personalities are buried. It is located in the
Alfama
neighbourhood, close to another important Lisbon monument, the
Monastery of Sao Vicente de Fora
.
History
[
edit
]
The current building of the Church of Santa Engracia substituted previous churches dedicated to a
martyr
of the city of
Braga
,
Saint Engratia
. The first church dedicated to the Saint was sponsored by Infanta
Maria of Portugal, Duchess of Viseu
, daughter of
King Manuel I
, around 1568. In 1681, construction of the current church began after previous structures collapsed. The design was the work of
Joao Antunes
, royal architect and one of the most important
baroque
architects in Portugal.
Construction proceeded from 1682 through 1712, when the architect died.
King John V
lost interest in the project, concentrating his resources in the gigantic
Convent of Mafra
. The church was not completed until the 20th century, so that
obras de Santa Engracia
(literally
works of Saint Engratia
) has become a Portuguese synonym for an endless construction project. A
dome
was added, and the church was reinaugurated in 1966.
Architecture
[
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]
Joao Antunes prepared an ingenious design for Santa Engracia, never before attempted in Portugal. The church has a centralised
floorplan
, with a
Greek cross
shape. On each corner there is a square tower (the pinnacles were never completed), and the facades are undulated like in the baroque designs of
Borromini
. The main facade has an entrance hall (
galilee
) and three niches with statues. The entrance to the church is done through a beautiful baroque portal with the
coat-of-arms
of Portugal held by two angels. The Church has a high central dome which was completed only in the 20th century.
The high altar of the church
The harmonious interior of the church is dominated by the curved spaces of the central
crossing
and naves. The floor and walls are decorated with baroque, polychromed patterns of marble. The magnificent 18th-century baroque organ was brought from
Lisbon Cathedral
.
National Pantheon
[
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]
In 1916, during the
First Portuguese Republic
, the Church of Santa Engracia was converted into a National Pantheon. It was completed only in 1966, during the government of the dictator
Antonio de Oliveira Salazar
. There was much speculation that it was completed for the eventual death of Salazar and other high ranking
Estado Novo
officials, but this was proven false when he died in 1970 and his wishes were revealed to be buried in his hometown of
Vimieiro
near
Santa Comba Dao
, which was carried out. Besides Oscar Carmona, no other Estado Novo officials were entombed there.
The personalities entombed here include the Presidents of the Republic
Manuel de Arriaga
,
Teofilo Braga
,
Sidonio Pais
and
Oscar Carmona
, presidential candidate
Humberto Delgado
, writers
Joao de Deus
,
Almeida Garrett
,
Guerra Junqueiro
,
Aquilino Ribeiro
and
Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen
, fado singer
Amalia Rodrigues
, and footballer
Eusebio
. There are
cenotaphs
to
Luis de Camoes
,
Pedro Alvares Cabral
,
Afonso de Albuquerque
,
Nuno Alvares Pereira
,
Vasco da Gama
,
Henry the Navigator
and
Aristides de Sousa Mendes
.
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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