Portal de Nossa Senhora da Conceição Velha - Lisbon, Portugal
N 38° 42.526 W 009° 08.055
29S E 488327 N 4284467
An historical marker is located at the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição, a beautiful church representing one of the last remnants of the Manueline (or Portuguese late Gothic) architectural style in the city of Lisbon, Portugal.
Waymark Code: WMB6MY
Location: Lisboa, Portugal
Date Posted: 04/11/2011
Views: 27
The historical marker reads as follows:
Portal de Nossa Senhora
da Conceição Velha
"O Portal de Nossa Senhora da Conceição Velha é o que resta da Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia, destruída pelo terramoto de 1755, e que fora mandada construir por D. Leonor, viuva de D. João II, no local onde se erguia uma antiga sinagoga. Decorado com grande riqueza de pormenores manuelinos, com destaque para anjos, flores, esferas armilares e a cruz da Ordem de Cristo, o Portal apresenta ainda, no tímpano, a Virgem Maria protegendo com o seu manto figuras históricas, como o papa Leão X.
The Portal de Nossa Senhora da Conceição Velha is all that remains from the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia, which the 1755 earthquake destroyed, and which had been commissioned in the 15th century by the widow of King João II, Leonor, on the site of an old synagogue. Decorated with a rich profusion of Manueline details, with an emphasis on angels, flowers, armillar spheres and the cross of the Ordem de Cristo, the Portal further displays, in the tympanum, the Virgem Maria protecting with her mantle historical figures, namely the pope Leão X."
Additional information about this historic structure:
"The Igreja of Nossa Senhora da Conceição Velha (Old Church of Our Lady of the Conception) is a church in the centre of Lisbon, in Portugal. It is notable as one of the last remnants of the Manueline style in the city.
The church is located in the Baixa district in Lisbon, near the Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square). The present church is the result of a reconstruction carried out after the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, when most buildings of the city were destroyed in the quake and the tsunami that followed. The old Church of Our Lady of the Mercy (Misericórdia) was ruined, as well as the Church of Conceição. The Church of the Mercy was rebuilt reutilising rescued elements of the old building, mainly decorative elements of the façade. Once finished, the Conceição Church occupied the rebuilt Mercy Church. (The Brotherhood of Mercy (or Charity) was transferred to the (formerly Jesuit) St. Roque Church.)
The reused elements of the façade of the Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição Velha date from the early 16th century (before 1530) and belong to the Manueline style, mixing late Gothic and Renaissance decorative motifs. The beautiful portal has a tympanon with an image of Our Lady of the Mercy; her mantle, held by two angels, covers King Manuel I, Queen Eleanor, Leonor of Viseu (sister of King Manuel and founder of the Order of Mercy), Pope Alexander VI, the Bishop of Lisbon and other religious personalities. The portal and the windows of the façade are decorated with a very varied ensemble of Renaissance motifs. The interior of the church was rebuilt in the 18th century and is decorated with tiles and stucco work.
The façade of this church, together with Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower, are among the best Manueline structures left in Lisbon after the earthquake."
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