PORTUGAL, LISBON: LISBON CATHEDRAL

 June 24, 2022    

As we were walking up the never-ending hill to the Lisbon Cathedral, we approached the restaurant we had discovered by accident a few days before, the Restaurante Alpendre. Just seeing it made our mouths water and our tummies call out for a snack, so we stopped to see if their sardines were any better than they ones we had eaten at the festival in the park. They were.

As we were sitting there, who should walk by but the couple from England whom we'd met the previous day on our small group tour to Sintra, and whom we had seen earlier in the day when THEY were sitting outside a restaurant and WE were walking by. Bob ran out to say hello while I stayed at the table so the waiter didn't think we were ditching without paying the bill. We couldn't believe we saw our friends twice in one day in such a large city with so many tourist attractions.

After our little snack, we continued on to the cathedral.

The Lisbon Cathedral is the oldest and most important church in Lisbon. The original Romanesque church was built in 1147. During the next few centuries, several additions and renovations were completed. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake (estimated strength 8.5 to 9.0 on the Richter scale) and ensuing fires destroyed the main chapel, the cloisters, and many chapels. The cathedral was partially rebuilt in neoclassical and Rococo styles, and then fully restored in the early 20th century.

Before we walked inside, we saw this fun story that had been framed and hung on the outside wall. Fernando Martins is the childhood name of Anthony of Padua, also known as Anthony of Lisbon.

And here is the referenced cross engraved on the wall.

The cathedral is beautiful, but not particularly memorable compared to some of the other sites we visited. 

Rather than the standard fragment of bone, the relic in this brass hand is a 16th-century pendant that once belonged to St. Francis Xavier, one of the founders of the Jesuit order.

We visited the Treasury on the upper floor and were impressed by the show of wealth. No wonder the government shut down the monasteries in the mid-1800s. Their massive wealth also meant massive power.

I got in trouble for taking this picture. I can't remember why it was not allowed.

There are several small chapels behind the altar and sanctuary. 

By far my favorite thing in the cathedral was this tomb.

This gives "reading in bed" a whole new meaning. I would like a stone carving like this to mark my final resting place.

I also like The Man and His Dog tomb.

Hey! Another woman who loves books!

Her book looks a bit too long for me. No wonder she died while reading it.

Not only is this quite the dressing room, but that is quite the cape, don't you think?

The baptistry is in a tiny chapel with walls covered in the blue tiles called azulejos.

The side wall of the baptistry shows St. Anthony preaching to the fish, one of my favorite images from Lisbon that we saw multiple times.