Church day in Porto
We took the morning off from touring to do a little laundry and catch up on our writings. When we selected our apartment on AirBnB, we chose one that has a washer but doesn’t have a dryer (very hard to find and quite expensive) so line drying is the way to go.
Laundry done, breakfast done, now off to explore more of the city. Today’s forecast calls for clear skies in the morning, clouds in the afternoon with rain tonight and tomorrow. Temps in the low 60’s. We’ll be walking to the twin Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Igreja do Carmo), and Church of the Carmelites (Igreja dos Carmelitas) to check out the azulejo tile façade and gilt altar.
Unique to this church is the small, narrow house situated between the twin churches. The 3-storey house Casa Escondida (“Hidden House”) was, according to legend, built so that the two churches would not share a common wall and to prevent any relations between the nuns of Igreja dos Carmelitas and the monks of Igreja do Carmo. Come on, you can’t trust a nun or a monk? You don’t think they would simply walk around the house?
Another, more likely reason, is that the building was constructed for purely aesthetic reasons to prevent an unsightly gap between the two churches. The house served as a residence for chaplains and it also housed the artists who worked on the interior and exterior decoration of the churches as well as doctors serving at the Igreja do Carmo’s hospital. Various secret meetings took place at the house during the French invasion of Portugal by Napoleon and the Siege of Porto in 1832-1833. Viva la France!
Azulejo yile
The two churches
Detail of the tile work on the facade
The hidden house is nice, but the main reason we visited here was the façade and gilt altar. Igreja do Carmo, was built between 1756 and 1768 in the rococo or late Baroque style by Jose de Figueiredo Seixas. The church has an outstanding azulejo-covered exterior that was added in 1912. The tiles were made locally in Vila Nova de Gaia and designed by the artist Silvestro Silvestri. They depict scenes of the founding of the Carmelite Order and Mount Carmel. The exterior facade of the church is crafted with a rectangular portal, with two religious’ sculptures of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. The interior of the church has a single nave with seven ornate gilt altars, the work of sculptor Francisco Pereira Campanha, as well as a number of fine oil paintings. There’s also a crypt with a single glass – top grave so you can see the three people buried there. All for the low cost of 9.5EUR!
Igreja do Carmo nave
Holy Fereter
Crucifix Hall- some dating back to 1400AD
The crypt
Always nice to have a secret passage. Even nicer to have it marked!
Sister Maria de Jesus The inscription states: “When you open this grave, do it with caution.”
The Igreja dos Carmelitas, next door, is the earlier of the two churches and was built in the mid-17th century with the exterior completed in 1628. The church was part of a convent that no longer exists. The facade is done in granite with three arched entrances topped with statues. There is a single bell tower on the left, the top of which is covered with blue and white azulejos tiles. The interior of the Igreja dos Carmelitas has a single nave with six side chapels. This church was free and just as ornate but no crypt.
Igreja do Carmo (left), Igreja dos Carmelitas (right), Hidden House in the middle (2 narrow windows)
Igreja do Carmo, nave
Igreja do Carmo vestment room
Wow, that’s enough church for a while. Not sure who started the fad of over-the-top altar decorating but I’m sure somewhere down the line, they’re related to a Kardashian. So, walking along the park area beside the church (Jardim da Cordoaria), Collette and I came across an unusual restaurant, Pirocaria, or Dickateria (Dick Restaurant). Named for their product, not owner. It’s a well-known waffle house here in Porto that some claim have the best tasting waffles ever. Gonna take their word on that. Unfortunately, the shop was closed when we went by so all we got were a few pics from outside. Collette says we are not going back so sorry, no pictures of the waffle dish.
We also saw this statue that seemed out of place. Guess this is what a statue looks like when you spend all your money on the base.
Just the head…
That’s about enough for today. Going to head back and check on the clothes, play a little dice and listen to some music. Maybe tomorrow I can talk the little lady into a waffle, but for today, these will have to do. The small round pastry is the national pastry of Portugal, pateis de nata – absolutely fabulous!
A little ray of sunshine…
Cheers