Walking further along on the tour we stopped at a church in the heart of downtown Lisbon, Igreja de Sao Domingos.
The start of this church began in 1241. The columns, tall ceilings, and ornate carvings are all symbols of the original medieval architecture. It survived two earthquakes, one in 1531 and then the Great Earthquake of 1755. Both earthquakes altered how the church looked. After being rebuilt to its full glory it suffered a devastating fire in 1959.
After the fire, the church was a gutted shell – with charred beams and burnt debris everywhere. All the treasures, relics, and paintings were lost to the fire. By Christmas of 1960, the church had a temporary roof put on so that mass could be held.
By the 1990s a better roof was added to give it an admirable ceiling, but simply painted, not ornate. Everyone loved how it looked and like that it showed the scars of the past mixed in with the baroque façade.
Pictures do not do this church justice. The wow factor you get when you walk in cannot be captured with a picture.
The next stop was for a sip of a Portuguese treat, ginjinha, which is a cherry liqueur. We got our glasses at Ginjinha Sem Rival. This tiny little shop sells hundreds of glasses of this liqueur each day.
This is a port based drink that is infused with sour cherries, which are fermenting in the liquid.
Though it is served in a shot glass, it is meant to be sipped. The cherry is usually saved for the end, but be careful, there is a pit in the cherry.
After that boost of sugar we continued our walk around the neighborhoods of Lisbon. We came to Restauradores/Av Liberdade. This is a square dedicated to the restoration of Portugal’s independence in 1640. The obelisk that is in the middle of the square – placed there in 1886 – carries the names and dates of battles fought during the Portuguese Restoration War in 1640.
Climbing higher up the hills, we came to the Largo do Carmo. This was the setting for the democratic revolution in 1974. It was nearly a bloodless coup that saw soldiers put carnations down the barrels of their rifles to show they did not want to fight and wanted the government to be handed over peacefully. To this day the carnation is the official flower of Portugal.
Not far down the street stood the Carmo Ruins. This gothic monument is all that is left of a convent for Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
At the door entrance, you can still see evidence from the 1755 earthquake by the cracked, shifted stone.
Our guide even mentioned that they still use these ruins for concerts and other events. There are beautiful views of the city from this spot as well.
Enjoy!
T
