Lisbon Cathedral
Introduction
The Lisbon Cathedral is one of the most famous icons of the city, locally it is known as Sé de Lisboa. Situated at Largo da Sé, from outside, this building looks like a fortress, made out of the solid stone blocks. Some of the Portugal’s nobility and elite got baptised and married in here.
History
D. Afonso Henriques and the Second Crusade took Lisbon from the Muslim hands in 1147. The very first bishop of this cathedral was an English crusader, Gilbert of Hastings. This cathedral is built over a medieval mosque, few of the remains have been found at the back of the cathedral.
At the end of the 13th century King Dinis of Portugal built a Gothic cloister and parts of the old mosque were levelled. Afonso IV of Portugal had the main chapel converted into a royal pantheon in Gothic style for him and his family.
Cloister
The Gothic cloister of the Lisbon Cathedral is dominated by the twin arches. A series of radiating chapels were built alongside the cloister, the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Piedade was the main centre of Misericórdia organisation. This Catholic brotherhood organisation was started by Queen Leonor of Portugal in 1498. The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake caused massive damage to this structure and renovation work was carried out in 1930s.
Remains of the Roman and Islamic Past
Archaeological excavation in the cloister garden started in 1990 and it has unearthed structures from the 7th century BC to 14th century AD. The Roman occupied this area around 2nd-1st century BC but later in the 1st century shops were built here. An Islamic house along with the Roman stores were discovered at the site.
