Igreja Santa Maria de Belém - Portal
Igreja Santa Maria de Belém at the Jerónimos Monastery. Main Portal. The tympanum depicts scenes from the life of St Jerome, a statue of Henry the Navigator is between the doors, many carved statues in niches, a statue of the Madonna and many flamboyant pinnacles and gables in Manueline style.
"The church of Santa Maria, at the S.E. angle of the monastery, is the burial-place of Emmanuel and his successors, and is celebrated for the gorgeous architecture of its S. façade. The superb Main Entrance, about 40 ft. wide and 105 ft. high, was designed by Joao de Castilho and is lavishly adorned with sculptures by Master Nicholas, 'the Frenchman'. It is framed by two buttresses and a large circular arch. Above is a wealth of pinnacles, niches, and statues; and at the very top, rising over the beautiful open parapet of the roof, is a canopy surmounted by the cross of the Order of Christ".--Baedeker 1913
Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon UNESCO World Heritage site.
DSC_0703p1
Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil a... ... read more 
