A Little Bit of Culture

We have travelled into the heart of the countryside north of the Tejo river which is an altogether more prosperous region dotted with various monasteries.  Deciding that a trip to Fàtimar (the Lourdes of Portugal) would be a taking things a bit far we opted to take a look at the largest Roman remains in Portugal, together with just two of the monasteries on route. All world heritage sites of course!

The church and Cistercian Monastery at Alcobaça date from the 12^th Century and once housed 999 monks, who, between prayers  (as the quidebook seems to infer)  had a grand old time in “ this distinguished temple of gluttony”. The refectory had a water channel built through the middle of the room so that a tributary for the nearby river could provide a constant supply of fresh fish.   In the attached church, the lady in the finely carved tomb was murdered by her prospective father-in-law because of her family’s potential Spanish influence, only to be reunited with her prince once he became king two years later!  He died seven years after that and they now resided in opposite chancels of the church.

Manueline style doorway

Batalha – This monastery was built after a Dom Joâo of Avis won a major battle against Juan 1 of Castile in Spain who was claiming the Portuguese throne in 1385.  Dom Joâo’s army was very much outnumbered even though he was also assisted by a few hundred English soldiers, so he called on the Virgin Mary for help and vowed to build a superb abbey in return for victory. The whole place is enormous with two cloisters and an unfinished chapel and attached to the church, like the one at Alcobaça it has plain arches that reach far above your head – really quite serine especially when the sun shines through the stained glass windows.  The stone carving is very fine and almost gives the appearance of lace around the cloisters.     

                         

Roman ruins of Conimbriga    -  The original settlement dates back to the Celtic times but the Romans came here in the 1^st Century AD and it  blossomed as a major city on the route from Lisbon with well to do mansions and baths.  However, because of threats from invading tribes in the 3^rd Century the townsfolk threw up a huge defensive wall around the town but for some reason, it went right through the centre of the eastern side with some houses left on the outside! The Suevi tribe eventually seized the town and the inhabitants fled to neighbouring Coimbra saving it from destruction. It is set in a very peaceful valley with the remains of a 3km aqueduct leading up to the bathing complex.   The original area was huge and the mansions and baths are easily recognizable and it looks as though there is a vast amount still to be excavated.