PORTUGAL: PORTO, PART IV - ORDEM DO CARMO AND RIBEIRA

 June 28, 2022

We were nearing the end of our crazy, too-fast day in Porto, but we still had a couple of places on our list.

The first was Ordem do Carmo, or the Order of Carmo, a rococo church built between 1756 and 1768 as a convent for the Carmelite Order of the Roman Catholic Church. 

Like several other churches we saw in Porto, the exterior walls are covered in blue tiles that are not original to the structure but added in 1916.

 In this case, the tiles depict the history of the Carmelites.

The interior has a single spectacular nave surrounded by six side chapels.

There is that wedding cake altar again. It really is a Portuguese hallmark.

There are lots of elaborate gilded side altars.

This reliquary cross contains bone fragments from SIX saints.

Okay, this is a bit creepy. The mummified body of Sister Maria de Jesus is on display in a very narrow coffin.

Glass panels in the floor expose skeletons in the catacombs beneath the church floor. Somehow they are less creepy than Sister Maria's corpse.

I'm not sure who the monk is, but he is one lucky guy.

Like other monasteries/convents, there is ample evidence of the order's wealth and power.

I always feel so sorry for the disembodied heads under Mary's feet.

Well, it had been a VERY long day. Bob thought it would be nice to stroll along the Douro River in the Ribeira neighborhood, so we made our way slowly down from the hills of the city to the riverside, passing many versions of the ubiquitous azulejos on the exterior walls of buildings. It seems there are as many versions as there are houses.

Besides the beautiful tiles, I was intrigued by this mural of a giraffe wearing what looks like flying fish earrings and standing in a patch of mushrooms. Interesting. 

We weren't the only ones out for a stroll. The waterfront is home to countless restaurants and bars, which makes it a popular place.

We managed to snag a bench, but it was fun to see all the people sitting on the pavement. While we were resting there, my cell phone rang. It was my mother-in-law calling to tell us she was dying but not to come home. (She is 96.) Bob called her every day after that, and we were glad she was still around when we got home.

The bronze Cubo da Ribeira, a modern sculpture by José Rodrigues, was integrated into the reconstruction of an old fountain in Ribeira square. Behind the fountain, a statue of Porto's patron saint, John the Baptist (by Portuguese sculptor João Cutileiro, 2007), overlooks the square.

Apartments on the border of the main Ribeira Square would be a really fun (but maybe too noisy) place to live.

In a very uncharacteristic move, this is where Bob wanted to have dinner. Perhaps he was hoping the unusual exterior meant unique selections. That was not the case.

In a very characteristic move, this is what I wanted for dinner. Lucky for us, Arcadia Chocolates (which I had scouted out from home) was just across the street from our hotel!