Igreja de Santa Maria dos Olivais - Tomar, Portugal
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Torgut
N 39° 36.279 W 008° 24.554
29S E 550717 N 4384045
A mural in Tomar, one of the most beautiful small towns in Portugal
Waymark Code: WMPENP
Location: Santarém, Portugal
Date Posted: 08/19/2015
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Outspoken1
Views: 1

This mural is located in the center of the town of Tomar. It represents a local church, which actually is not far from the spot. About the church and from Wikipedia:

"The church was built in the second half of the 12th century by the provincial master of the Order of the Knights Templar in Portugal, Gualdim Pais. It was used as a burial place for the Knights Templar of Tomar and, later, by the Knights of the Order of Christ, which succeeded the Templars in the 14th century. Gualdim Pais is buried in the church, and his original tomb slab, dated from 1195 and bearing a gothic inscription, is still preserved inside.

The current building is mostly the result of a reconstruction carried out in the 13th century in early Gothic style. The main façade has a beautiful rose window and a simple portal with several archivolts, and is flanked by a free-standing bell tower. The interior is very simple. The church has three naves covered by a wooden roof, and the columns of the pointed arches of the naves are devoid of capitals. The main chapel of the apse is covered by a Gothic ribbed vault. The tracery of the small rose window in the Eastern wall of the nave has the shape of a pentagram.

In the 16th century the church was restored and several chapels were added to the Southern side of the church. Notable are the polychromed statue of the Virgin Mary and Child (early 16th century) in the main altar and the funerary monument of Diogo Pinheiro, first Bishop of Funchal, a fine Renaissance work dated from 1525, located on the wall of the main chapel.

On the left side nave, in front of the chapel displaying the statue "Virgin Mary" there is a slab carved with the arms of two families whose faded Latin inscription reads, immediately under the arms, "T.DA.CUNHA" appearing to indicate that one of the persons buried under it was a relation of the famous commander Tristaõ da Cunha."

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The mural was placed in a blank facade of a residential building and is made of blue tiles. It also has a visual reference to the major town festival, "A Festa dos Tabuleiros", which takes place in July:

"The Festa dos Tabuleiros (Festival of the Trays) takes place every four years in July in Tomar, Portugal. This festival is an ancient tradition, and the most important celebrated in the city, attracting people from all over the world. It is held every four years, the last one being held in June and July 2011. The local population parades in pairs with the girls carrying tabuleiros on their heads. The tabuleiro is made of 30 stacked pieces of bread, either in 6 rows of 5 or 5 rows of 6, decorated with flowers. At the top of the tabuleiro is a crown which normally contains either a white dove, symbolising the Holy Spirit, or the esfera armilar (armillary sphere), a symbol of the historical Portuguese maritime expansion.

Although the features of the Feast arise from major deletions and some changes (in what remained) of the ancient Portuguese millenarian rituals, that took place over the centuries, standardizing the current Feast in 1950, its origin is in the cult of the Empire of the Holy Spirit (Culto do Império do Divino Espírito Santo), at the feast of the Pentecost."

(visit link)

In the mural these elements are combined in a collage. The church is represented in a bucolic style and two ladies carrying the trays are depicted walking on the fields in front of the church.
City: Tomar

Location Name: Residential building

Artist: Breja

Date: 1990 (?)

Media: Blue Tiles

Relevant Web Site: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and description of your visit. One original photo of the mural must also be submitted. GPSr photo NOT required.
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bmps2003 visited Igreja de Santa Maria dos Olivais - Tomar, Portugal 01/23/2016 bmps2003 visited it