Our Blog - Viseu, Portugal

After Porto, we headed to the small city of Viseu. Viseu is not really known to many tourists, but it has been elected several times as the best city to live in Portugal. It is an old city, dating back to the Celtic period which goes back to 2 BC. Under the Romans, it was an important intersection of the Roman roads linking Lisbon to a several Roman cities in Spain. Defensive fortifications were built in the late 1300's after the city was besieged by forces of Juan I of Castile.

This first statue is of Duarte, who is known as Edward, who was King of Portugal from 1433 - 1438. He was born in Viseu, the son of King John I and Queen Philippa. When his father died from the plague in 1433, he took over the throne until he died (also from the plague) in 1438. He had quite a few kids (9 of them!) with the last one being born after his death. Of them, 4 died young, while the others ended up as royalty (or near royalty). Afonso succeeded him as Afonso V, King of Portugal, and while Ferdinand was never King, his son was King Manuel I. Catherine was betrothed to Charles IV of Navarre but he died before the marriage (she then became a nun) and Eleanor was Holy Roman Empress (married to Frederick III). The last child, Joan, was Queen of Castile (married to Henry IV of Castile). So his family did well :-)

Igreja da Misericordia is from the late 18th century, with a typical Baroque style and a Rococo façade. The façade is subdivided in 5 sections by the vertical granite sections in between the white plaster. It has the two bell-towers on either side and a national coat of arms topped by the royal crown in the center, just under the cross.

The interior was redone in the 19th century in a more neoclassical style. The altarpiece of the main altar is a bit unique for an altarpiece, with it's columns and carved wood. On top of a set of carved wood levels stands an image of Nossa Senhora da Misericordia (Our Lady of Mercy). Some of the carvings are very lovely, including the last one that I show, with all of the amazing detail in the dresses.

The Cathedral of Viseu was started in the 12th century although before this building, there was an earlier Christian basilica from the 5th and 6th centuries. The current façade, which looks like a Mannerist altarpiece, is decorated with statues of the Four Evangelists, the Holy Mary. and Saint Theotonius. It was added in the mid 1600's. It is flanked by two mediaeval towers which look like they belong as part of a fort or defensive wall.

On the South side of the cathedral is a two-story cloister, which is a bit unique for cloisters that we have seen. The ground floor has a typical Italian Renaissance style, built around 1539 while the upper floor, a Mannerist-style gallery, was added in the 17th century.

As you enter, there are more tiles, which we've seen in a majority of the churches in Portugal.

And then you come into the main part of the Cathedral which has the form of a Latin cross. The gilt-woodwork Baroque-Rococo altarpiece comes from the same sculptor as the one in the Porto Cathedral. While it was completed in 1733, it has a statue of the Holy Mary which is from the 14th century that was incorporated into it.

Like many churches, it has highly decorative choir stalls.

Another blue tile wall, this one depicting Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist.

Praça da República, or Republic Square, is the main square in town. The square is where most of the political, economic and administrative buildings can be found, as well as this fountain.

Just up from the Praça da República you can find the Painel de Azulejos. Added in 1930, this tiled wall depicts typical costumes from the region and characters and rural scenes from the area.

Behind the panel is a small garden called the Garden of Mothers. It is small but with lovely flowers and a statue in the middle. It pays homage to all of the mothers in the world.

The Porta do Soar is one of the seven gates of the old defensive walls, dating from the 15th century. You can still see the small niche containing the image of St. Francis, the guardian of the door. This was a normal practice in the main entrances of late medieval fortresses.

One thing that we went to see that I have no picture of is ruins of a Roman wall. We actually *did* see it, but taking a picture would have been no use to allow you to see it. As you are walking down Formosa Street, there is a glass plate in the pavement. If you look really closely (it is a bit dirty so a bit difficult), you can make out the roman wall and a parts of a semi-circular fortified tower that were found in 2004.

There are two fountains within Santa Cristina Square. The first, the fountain on the right-hand wall, is the oldest fountain in Viseu. It dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries and is decorated with a coat of arms. In the middle is the New Fountain, from the 18th century, in the shape of a small temple. The 2nd picture shows a closeup of the old fountain.