Home of the world's most expensive chapel
The church with the plainest façade in Lisbon has one of the city's richest
interiors.
Each of the chapels is a masterpiece of Baroque art but the showpiece is the
fourth one on the left, the "world's most expensive chapel."
Designed in
Rome using the most costly materials available, including ivory, agate,
porphyry, lapis lazulli, gold and silver, it was blessed by the Pope and
shipped to Lisbon in 1747.
Of note is also the chapel's "paintings," which
are not paintings but extraordinarily detailed mosaics, and the ceiling
painted with scenes of the Apocalypse. Today this chapel is considered a
masterpiece of European art.
Adjoining the church is a Museum of Sacred Art, containing 16th century
Portuguese paintings (including one of Catherine of Austria, and another of
the wedding ceremony of King Manuel I), a display of vestments, and an
impressive collection of baroque silver. A highlight is a pair of
bronze-and-silver torch holders, weighing about 840 pounds, among the most
elaborate in Europe.
Where: Largo Trindade Coelho, Bairro Alto
How: Metro - Baixa-Chiado Station
When: 10AM-5PM (Closed Mondays)
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Miradouro
de São Pedro de Alcântara - A garden with a panoramic view over the city.
Camões
Square - A busy square and meeting place between Chiado and Bairro Alto.
Chiado
Museum - Museum of Portuguese contemporary art.
São
Carlos Theater - The city's La Scala-inspired opera house.
Carmo
Church - Romantic Gothic ruins evocative of the Great Earthquake.
Principe
Real - Charming leafy square.
Miradouro de Santa Catarina - A terrace and café with a view.
Botanical
Garden - An enchanting botanical garden.
