The Churches of Viana do Castelo

I was going to do a quick post about Viana do Castelo but I think the churches deserve a post of their own. There are many churches in the town, indeed one sits high above in glorious splendour on the hill, this is the Saint Lucia Basilica. An imposing edifice of 19th century vintage it is served by its own funicular railway and is a noted tourist attraction.



However hidden away are some real treasures. Like the santa Casa da Misericordia or the Mercy building and church from the 16th century. Inside it is a superb example of baroque art.



From the outside on the left in the picture above is the casa de verandas 1589, with the rather understated church building on the right.
However once you go inside.



Seemingly not a square inch is left undecorated. Tha alter and side chapel pieces are of carved wood richly guilded, the walls are covered in typical portugese tiles telling stories from biblical history, there are portraits on the wall niches and a magnificent painted ceiling Fresco.



The frescos are by Manuel Gomez and date from 1721 they represent the holy trinity, the assumption and escape from egypt.
The tiled walls are attributed to António and Policarpo de Oliveira Bernardes and represent the 14 acts of mercy.



It is difficult to give a flavour of the richness of decoration, the eye is constantly being attracted to ever smaller details. On standing back you are overwelmed by the whole.



I took a bit of video please click the link below.
Misericordia
Later we took the funicular to the summit of the hill to look around the Basilica of St Luzia.



In contrast this is a relatively modern construction begun in 1904 and finished in 1959. It is visible from the sea and indeed almost anywhere in the town.



It is notable for its three rose windows.



Inside the decoration is modern with the stations of the cross painted around the alter and a large fresco representing the Sacred Heart above in place of a fourth rose window.



Its all very impressive but it didn't move me quite as much as the baroque wonders below. However the situation high on the hill is truly magnificent with views that are breathtaking.



For a princely euro we got the elevator to ascend 60 metres to the top of one of the towers.



The river that had been so windy and challenging yesterday now seemed very calm and tranquil as it lay spread out below us.

I had wanted to climb to the very top of the cupola and a bit of exploration revealed a second elevator this one ascending 90 metres and then leading to a very tight passage from a room above the central dome.

Lynne had had enough of heights and constrictions at this point and elected to wait in the first dome room.



Passage upward was controlled by a traffic light system as it would have been impossible to pass in the spiral stairs. It was surprisingly claustrophobic!



Above what I think must have been the bell tower dome the last spiral staircase led up to the very summit of the cupola.



What an airy spot! The views stretched for miles.......



The photo below is looking north, back towards Spain.



The whole coastline we had sailed the previous day and the coastline yet to come was laid out before me, however I had to rejoin Lynne so I took a quick selfie to prove I had been there and descended the warren of spiral passages to rejoin Lynne some 30 metres below.



Back on terra firma we treated ourselves to an icecream and wandered to the shrine of Santa Luzia. It must have taken an incredible amount of candles to soot stain the rocks.



There were also a few wax representations of eyes. The original Basilica was begun by a cavalry captain, Luis de Antrade e Sousa who having been relieved of extreme opthalmia established the brotherhood of santa Luzia and vowed to indulge the grace bestowed upon him by building this prominent basilica and grounds. St Luzia is the patron saint of eye problems.
So we had scratched the surface and enjoyed a fascinating afternoon exploring the churches of  Viana do Castelo, only another 10-12 to go!