Inside the Mosteiro de São Bento da Vitória, Porto, Portugal - Walking Tour

#porto #portugal #walkingtour "The Monastery of São Bento da Vitória is located in the center of Porto, in the parish of Vitória, and was built at the end of the 16th century. Construction ended around a century after it began. It was a long process, which is reflected in the Mannerist and Baroque architecture and ornamentation of the church, with works from different periods and of great significance in the context of Portuguese art history. After 1834, the building was used as a court and prison, and also as barracks, successively housing the troops of the Junta do Porto (1846-1847), Infantry Regiment No. 6, the National Artillery Battalion, Hunter Battalion No. 9, Hunter Battalion No. 1 and other military services. It wasn’t until 1977 that the building ceased to be used by the army. In 1922, the building was hit by a fire which destroyed the area occupied by the Military Prison, the Military Court and the barracks of two regiments (Infantry 31 and Engineering), leading to the gradual withdrawal of the military corps. The building was then vacant and in a considerable state of disrepair. Between 1985 and 1990, IPPAR subjected the Monastery to restoration work, allowing the Benedictine monks, the Porto National Orchestra and the Porto District Archive to move in. In 2007, the State assigned a significant part of the building to the TNSJ (Teatro Nacional de S. João), where it hosts theatrical performances, concerts and special events from its program, as well as outside initiatives of various kinds. It has been classified as a National Monument since 1977." - https://conventosemosteiros.pt/en/mon... "At the very heart of Porto, in Vitória parish, the São Bento da Vitória Monastery – a classified National Monument since 1977 – is one of the municipality’s most important religious buildings. In the late 1500s, after a series of difficult negotiations, the monks of the old Benedictine Congregation decided to build the Monastery, as both a sign of monastic presence and a support for clerics travelling from North to South and vice-versa. At the time, the city of Porto was a seat of illustrious monks and the Monastery soon became an important monument, due to its architectural grandiosity and to the monks’ work, especially in the field of music and singing, of which they created here a veritable school, as the Church’s magnificent organ still shows. After the necessary royal authorization had been granted, in 1598, a project was commissioned from architect Diogo Marques Lucas, a former disciple of Filippo Terzi. Construction began in 1604, and went on until the end of the century. The adjacent church was built in 1693, but its interior decorations were only concluded at the end of the 18th century. The foundation stone of the Major Cloister was laid in 1608. The Cloister, a monumental granite structure, was finished during the 1725-1728 triennium. The magnificent monastic house would, however, know troubled times. In 1808, during the Peninsular War, the Monastery was turned into a Military Hospital, and in 1835, after the Religious Orders’ expulsion, it became a Military Court and Prison, besides housing the 31st Infantry and Engineer Corps. From 1985 to 1990, IPPAR [the Portuguese Institute of Architectural Heritage] subjected the Monastery to restoration works (overseen by architects Carlos Guimarães and Luís Soares Carneiro), which preserved the building’s original structure and several architecturally valuable elements, while preparing it to house a Benedictine congregation, along with the Porto National Orchestra and Porto District Archives. Under the auspices of Porto 2001 – European Capital of Culture, the Major Cloister was covered with an acoustic shell, a steel structure on four pillars, and received a wooden floor. In 2007, the Portuguese State conceded the TNSJ an important part of the building, which now hosts theatre shows, concerts and special events in the TNSJ’s programming, besides various events organized by outside institutions." - https://www.visitportugal.com/en/node...