Batalha and Fatima

Capellas Imperfeitas

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Capellas Imperfeitas - Unfinished Chapels "It was not till the reign of Emmanuel the Fortunate (1495-1521) that the completion of the Capellas Imperfeitas was determined on - it is said at the instigation of Queen Leonora. The work, however, progressed but slowly, as the king soon transferred his interest to the new convent of Belem and selected its church as his mausoleum. Matthew Fernandes the Elder (from 1480; d. 1515) and M. Fernandes the Younger (d. 1528) are named as the master builders. To the design of the former are probably due the vestibule of the new mausoleum, with its celebrated portal, and the massive piers of the upper octagon. ... The CapelIas Imperfeitas (entr. on the E. side of the convent) adjoin the E. end of the church but have no organic connection with it. According to the original design, which would probably have exhibited the 'Manuelino' style in its most brilliant development the central octagon, with a diameter of about 65 ft., was surrounded by seven large chapels, each 28 ft. deep and having a triapsidal termination and three tall windows. The intervening spaces were occupied by six lower pentagonal chapels. The star-vaulting of the upper octagon was probably meant to be surmounted by a flat roof of stone".--Baedeker 1913 IMG_7992

Porta Travessa

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Mosteiro da Batalha - Batalha Monastery. Transept Portal on the south side of the church. DSC_0870

Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fátima

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Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fátima - Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima. Built in 1928-1953. The Marian apparitions were reported in 1917 by three shepherd children. DSC_0876

Fatima Shrine

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Grounds of the Fatima Shrine, including a holm oak tree. Behind the Chapel of the Apparitions (Capelinha das Aparições) is o braseiro - the brazier. Here, pilgrims or regular visitors may bring wax effigies of ailing parts of the body (a hand, a foot, etc.) and toss them or long candles into the fire. Adjacent to the brazier is a place to light regular votive candles. DSC_0874p1

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IMG_7942

Eucalyptus Trees

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The eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) was imported to Portugal n the 19th century to supply an expanding pulpwood industry. However, eucalyptus trees burn easily and contributed to the recent wildfires in Portugal. We drove through areas of forest that were still burned. Many of these trees near Válega have been burned. DSC_0890