Page 172 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Portugal

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MOSTEIRO DE SANTA

MARIA DA VITÓRIA

EXPERIENCE Estremadura and Ribatejo This pale limestone monastery celebrates João I’s 1385 victory over Castile at
! D4 ⌂ Batalha @ From Lisbon, Leiria, Porto de Mós & Fátima # Apr–mid-Oct:
9am–6:30pm daily; mid-Oct–Mar: 9am–6pm daily (last adm 30 mins before closing)
¢ 1 Jan, Easter, 1 May, 24 & 25 Dec ∑ mosteirobatalha.pt
Aljubarrota. As well as being João’s final resting place, two unknown World War I
soldiers lie in the chapterhouse, making the monastery a monument to fortitude.

The Dominican monastery of Santa Maria da
Vitória at Batalha is a masterpiece of Portuguese
Did You Know?
Gothic architecture notable for its Manueline
elements. The monastery was begun in 1388
under master builder Afonso Domingues (1330–
bem” (for good), is
1402), who was succeeded on his death by David
inscribed on
Huguet in 1406. Over the next two centuries
his tomb.
successive kings left their mark on the monastery. João I’s motto, “por
João I’s son, King Duarte, ordered a royal pantheon
to be built behind the apse. Unfortunately, he
died before it was completed and the octagonal
mausoleum was abandoned by Manuel I in favour
of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (p108), although Gothic arches by
many Manueline decorations remain. Afonso Domingues
and Huguet around
the Royal Cloister
are embellished by
Manueline tracery.
Lavabo

1

Refectory

1 The pale exterior of the monastery is a
fine example of late Gothic architecture.
2 The portal was decorated by Huguet
with intricate statues of the Apostles.
3 The lavabo, where friars washed their
hands before and after meals, contains a
2 3 fish-filled fountain built around 1450.
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