[PT]
A Catedral (Sé) da cidade do Porto, situada no coração do centro histórico, é um dos seus principais e mais antigos monumentos.
O início da sua construção data da primeira metade do século XII, e prolongou-se até ao princípio do século XIII. Esse primeiro edifício, em estilo românico, sofreu muitas alterações ao longo dos séculos. Da época românica datam o carácter geral da fachada com as torres e a bela rosácea, além do corpo da igreja de três naves coberto por abóbada de canhão. A abóbada da nave central è sustentada por arcobotantes, sendo a Sé do Porto um dos primeiros edifícios portugueses em que se utilizou esse elemento arquitectónico.
Na época gótica construiu-se a capela funerária de João Gordo (cerca de 1333), cavaleiro da Ordem dos Hospitalários e colaborador de D. Dinis, sepultado em um túmulo com jacente. Também da época gótica data o claustro (séc XIV-XV), construído no reinado de D. João I. Este rei casou-se com D. Filipa de Lencastre na Sé do Porto em 1387.
O exterior da Sé foi muito modificado na época barroca. Cerca de 1772 construiu-se um novo portal em substituição ao românico original. As balaustradas e cúpulas das torres também são barrocas. Cerca de 1736, o arquitecto italiano Nicolau Nasoni adicionou uma bela galilé barroca à fachada lateral da Sé.
À esquerda da capela-mor, encontra-se um magnífico altar de prata, construído na segunda metade do século XVII por vários artistas portugueses, salvo das tropas francesas em 1809 por meio de uma parede de gesso construída apressadamente. Ainda nesta área esquerda é especialmente notável a Imagem de Nossa Senhora de Vandoma (padroeira da cidade). No século XVII a capela-mor original românica (que era dotada de um deambulatório) foi substituída por uma maior em estilo barroco. O altar-mor, construído entre 1727-1729, é uma importante obra do barroco joanino, projectado por Santos Pacheco e esculpido por Miguel Francisco da Silva. As pinturas murais da capela-mor são de Nasoni.
O transepto sul dá acesso aos claustros do século XIV e à Capela de São Vicente. Uma graciosa escadaria do século XVIII de Nasoni conduz aos pisos superiores, onde os painéis de azulejos exibem a vida da Virgem e as Metamorfoses de Ovídio.
A sé integra três belos órgãos. Um deles, no coro-alto, marca em Portugal um período que dá início ao desenvolvimento organístico. Trata-se de um órgão do construtor Jann, o mesmo construtor do órgão da igreja da Lapa (Porto), ambos promovidos pelo esforço e iniciativa do Cónego Ferreira dos Santos.
Fonte: (
visit link)
[EN]
The Porto Cathedral (Portuguese: Sé do Porto), located in the historical centre of the city of Porto, Portugal, is one of the city's oldest monuments and one of the most important Romanesque monuments in Portugal
The current Cathedral of Porto underwent construction around 1110 under the patronage of Bishop Hugo and was completed in the 13th century, but there is evidence that the city has been a bishopric seat since the Suevi domination in the 5th-6th centuries.
The cathedral is flanked by two square towers, each supported with two buttresses and crowned with a cupola. The façade lacks decoration and is rather architecturally heterogeneous. It shows a Baroque porch and a beautiful Romanesque rose window under a crenellated arch, giving the impression of a fortified church.
The Romanesque nave is rather narrow and is covered by barrel vaulting. It is flanked by two aisles with a lower vault. The stone roof of the central aisle is supported by flying butresses, making the building one of the first in Portugal to use this architectonic feature.
This first Romanesque building has suffered many alterations but the general aspect of the façade has remained romanesque.
Around 1333 the Gothic funerary chapel of João Gordo was added. João was a Knight Hospitaller who worked for King Dinis I. His tomb is decorated with his recumbent figure and reliefs of the Apostles. Also from the Gothic period is the elegant cloister, built between the 14th and the 15th centuries during the reign of King John I, who married English Princess Philippa of Lancaster in Oporto Cathedral in 1387.
The external appearance of the Cathedral was greatly altered during Baroque times. In 1772 a new main portal substituted the old Romanesque original and the tower cupolas were altered. Around 1732 Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni added an elegant Baroque loggia to the lateral façade of the Cathedral. During the War of the Oranges whilst the battle at Amarante was taking place a group of Spanish soldiers briefly took control of the Cathedral before being overcome by the locals of the town. A marble plaque with a Magnetite backing now hangs up behind the altar in order to remind everyone of those who lost their lives whilst regaining control of the chapel. The magnetite backing was chosen in order to remind those travelling near the cathedral by interfering with the direction in which their compass points.
The interior was also altered during the baroque era. In one of the chapels there is a magnificent silver altarpiece, built in the second half of the 17th century by Portuguese artists. Also in the 17th century the romanesque apse (which had an ambulatory) was torn down and a new one was built in baroque style, later decorated with new wall paintings by Nasoni and choir stalls. The altarpiece of the chapel, designed by Santos Pacheco and executed by Miguel Francisco da Silva between 1727 and 1729, is an important work of Portuguese Baroque.
The three red marble holy-water fonts, supported by a statue, date from the 17th century. The baptistery contains a bronze bas-relief by António Teixeira Lopes, depicting the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist.
The South transept arm gives access to the Gothic cloister, which is decorated with baroque azulejos by Valentim de Almeida (between 1729 and 1731). They depict the life of the Virgin Mary and Ovid's Metamorphoses. The remains of the Early-Romanesque ambulatory contain a few sarcophagi. The terrace is decorated with azulejos by António Vidal. The coffered ceiling of the chapter house was painted with allegories of moral values by Pachini in 1737.
From: (
visit link)