Page 41 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Lisbon

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9 Santo António à Sé
Largo Santo António à Sé, 24.
Map 7 C4. Tel 218 869 145. @ 737.
v 12, 28. Open 8am–7pm daily (to
8pm Sat & Sun). 5 Museu Antoniano:
Tel 218 860 447. Open 10am–1pm,
2–6pm Tue–Sun. &
The popular little church of
Santo António allegedly stands
on the site of the house in
which St Anthony was born.
The crypt, reached via the
tiled sacristy on the left of the
church, is all that remains of
the original church destroyed
by the earthquake of 1755.
Work began on the new
church in 1757 headed by
Mateus Vicente, architect of
the Basílica da Estrela (see p57)
and was partially funded by
donations collected by local
children with the cry “a small
coin for St Anthony”. Even The Miradouro and Igreja da Graça seen from the Castelo de São Jorge
today the floor of the tiny q Miradouro da
chapel in the crypt is strewn and leave flowers for St Anthony
with euros and the walls are who is believed to bring good Graça
scrawled with devotional luck to new marriages.
messages from worshippers. Next door, the small Museu Map 8 D2. @ 737. v 12, 28.
The church’s façade blends Antoniano houses artifacts The working-class quarter of
the undulating curves of the relating to St Anthony as well Graça developed at the end
Baroque style with Neo- as gold- and silverware which of the 19th century. Today,
Classical Ionic columns on used to decorate the church. it is visited chiefly for the
either side of the main portal. The most charming exhibit views from its miradouro
Inside, on the way down to the is a 17th-century tiled panel (belvedere). The panorama
crypt, a modern azulejo panel of St Anthony preaching to of rooftops and skyscrapers is
commemorates the visit of the fishes. less spectacular than the view
Pope John Paul II in 1982. In from the castle, but it is a
1995 the church was given popular spot, particularly
a facelift for the saint’s eighth 0 Castelo de in the early evenings when
centenary. It is traditional for São Jorge couples sit at café tables
young couples to visit the under the pines. Behind
church on their wedding day See pp40–41. the miradouro stands an
Augustinian monastery,
founded in 1271 and rebuilt
after the earthquake. Once a
flour ishing complex, the huge
building is nowadays used as
barracks but the church, the
Igreja da Graça, can still be
visited. Inside, in the right
transept, is the Senhor dos
Passos, a representation of
Christ carrying the cross on
the way to Calvary. This figure,
clad in brilliant purple clothes,
is carried on a procession
through Graça on the second
Sunday in Lent. The azulejos
on the altar front, dating from
the 17th century, imitate the
brocaded textiles usually
Tiled panel recording Pope John Paul II’s visit to Santo António à Sé draped over the altar.

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