Jerónimos Monastery - Lisbon, Portugal
N 38° 41.854 W 009° 12.355
29S E 482093 N 4283236
This postage stamp depicts the unique single-span ribbed vault in the Church of Santa Maria at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, Portugal.
Waymark Code: WMA2P2
Location: Lisboa, Portugal
Date Posted: 11/07/2010
Views: 35
"The Hieronymites Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) is located in the Belém district of Lisbon, Portugal. This magnificent monastery can be considered one of the most prominent monuments in Lisbon and is certainly one of the most successful achievements of the Manueline style (Portuguese late-Gothic). In 1983, it was classified by the UNESCO, with nearby Belém Tower, as a World Heritage Site.
Church of Santa Maria
Diogo Boitac laid the foundations for this three-aisled church with five bays under a single vault, a clearly marked but only slightly projecting transept and a raised choir. The aisles and the nave are of about equal height in the manner of a hall church. Boitac built the walls of the church as far as the cornices and then started with the construction of the adjoining monastery.
João de Castilho, a Spanish architect and sculptor, continued the construction in 1517. He completed the retaining walls and the unique single-span ribbed vault, a combination of stellar vaulting and tracery vaults spanning the 19 m-wide church. Each set of ribs in the vaulting is secured by bosses. The bold design (1522) of the transversal vault of the transept lacks any piers or columns, while Boitac had originally planned three bays in the transept. The unsupported vault of the transept gives the viewer the impression as if it floats in the air.