Sintra – Part 3

April 23, 2019:

Today we’re going to start by taking a Hop-On, Hop-Off bus around Sintra, with stops at Cabo da Roca, the Capuchos Convent, the Countess Chalet, and the Moorish Castle. From the Moorish Castle, we will be taking a trail downhill to Sintra.

Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus Tour of Sintra – Source: Pinterest

CABO DA ROCA (CAPE ROCA):

Cabo da Roca or Cape Roca is a cape which forms the westernmost point of the Sintra Mountain Range, of mainland Portugal, of continental Europe, and of the Eurasian landmass.

The Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus gave us quite a scenic view of Cabo da Roca and we also hopped out and viewed the cape on foot.

Cabo da Roca (Cape Roca)

CONVENTO DOS CAPUCHOS (CONVENT OF THE CAPUCHOS):

The Convent of the Capuchos, also known as the “Cork Convent”, was founded in 1560 by Dom Álvaro de Castro, a State Counselor to King Sebastião I, with the name of Convento de Santa Cruz da Serra de Sintra, and was placed in the hands of Franciscan friars in fulfilment of a vow that he had made to his father, Dom João de Castro, the Fourth Viceroy of India, who was charged with its construction, died before the work was undertaken.

Convento dos Capuchos (Capuchos Convent)

The cork from the many oaks in the grounds was used for insulation, hence the name “Cork Convent” mentioned by William Beckford in his diary of a journey to Portugal in 1787.

Cork ceiling

The convent is remarkable for the extreme poverty of its construction, thus embodying the ideals of the Order of St. Francis of Assisi: the search for spiritual perfection by removing oneself from the world and renouncing the pleasures associated with earthly life.

Extreme poverty of its construction

The Capuchos (Capuchins) were an offshoot of the Franciscans, which arose in 1525, when Matteo da Bascio, an Observant Franciscan friar, sought a more primitive way of life of solitude and penance, as practiced by the founder of their Order, Saint Francis

Matteo da Bascio, (1495–1552),
co-founder of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

The extremely small convent was built in respect for harmony between the human construction and the pre-existing natural elements: of the divine construction – Its rustic appearance and great austerity are indissociable from the surrounding vegetation, since the building is completely integrated into the natural environment, to the extent that enormous granite boulders have been incorporated into its construction.

Enormous boulders incorporated in construction

Touring the Convent:

Capuchos Convent Map – Source: parquesdesintra.pt

Entrance to the Convent:
As you approach the Convent entrance, you will be struck by the simplicity of this place, especially after seeing all the spectacular palaces and gardens in the Sintra area…

Entrance to the convent

Courtyard of the Crosses (Terreiro das Cruzes):
Whoever arrived at the Convent, would do so by crossing the Courtyard of the Crosses (Terreiro das Cruzes) – gaining its name out of the three crosses representing Golgotha or Calvary, where Christ was crucified: one larger, at the center, portraying Christ and the two other smaller crosses representing the two other men crucified alongside.

Courtyard of the Crosses (Terreiro das Cruzes)

Gate of the Convent or Boulder Gate (Portico das Fragas):
Access to the convent is made by the Gate of the Convent or Boulder Gate, tucked between two large blocks of granite, where the bell was rung to summon the Guardian Brother, bearer of the keys to the convent, to open the gate.

Gate of the Convent or Boulder Gate

Bell for Convent Gate

Cross after entering the Gate of the Convent or Boulder Gate

Courtyard of the Fountain (Terreiro da Fonte):
This is the first place from which to obtain a first perspective of the premises of the Convent – It was the place for the reception of the pilgrims – At the tables and benches they could have lunch and drink fresh water at the fountain decorated with tiles.

Courtyard of the Fountain

Entrance Porch of the Convent:
In the entrance porch of the Convent stand out the meager decorative elements, in consonance with the orientations of life of these men.

Entrance porch – Photo: sintraexplorers.com

Door of Death:
This door is surmounted by a skull on two crossed bones, symbolizing, at the moment of passage, a symbolic death for the life that had lived until then, so that on the other side it would be reborn for a life dedicated to the spiritual way.

Door of death

This door also opens to an access corridor to the cloister and to other rooms of the Convent.

Access corridor to the cloister

Cork door from the access corridor to the cloister

Statue of the Virgin Mary and Child

Chapel of the Lord of the Steps aka Chapel of the Passion of Christ:
The chapel to the right of the porch, behind the grate, added in the 18th century, is decorated with blue and white tiles characteristic of this period, with representations alluding to the moment of the Passion of Christ, which is why it is known as the Chapel of the Lord of the Steps aka Chapel of the Passion of Christ.

Chapel of the Lord of the Steps aka Chapel of the Passion of Christ

Cell of King D. Sebastião and Herbarium:
Notice the two cork doors underneath and on either side of the cross (and behind the niche) of the entrance porch. On the right, the door leads to the cell of King D. Sebastião, and on the left, the door leads to the herbarium, used as a laboratory for medicinal plants, where there is still a set of braziers intended for their preparation.

Doors for Cell of King D. Sebastião and Herbarium

Church of the Convent:
In the Church of the Convent, the altar, in marble with embedded stones of various colors, was offered by the Castro family, patroness of the convent – Along with the tombstone evocative of the foundation of the house, which is also possible to observe inside the Church, it is the only object of luxury of the convent.

Altar – Church of the Convent

This unique church resembles a cave, evoking the legend of the foundation of the Convent, where King João III, on a hot summer day, sought shelter from a large granite rock under which he eventually fell asleep.

King João III, reigned December 13, 1521 – June 11, 1557

While sleeping, the king dreamed of angels who worshiped the Holy Cross in the hollow under which he rested, and when he woke up, he ordered to this place the foundation of a Convent consecrated to the Holy Cross to be delivered to the Franciscan order.

Don Joao de Castro, the Viceroy of India and the owner of these lands, was not able to carry out this task in his life and entrusted it to his son, Don Álvaro de Castro – The Franciscan convent, founded in 1560, was named Convent of Santa Cruz da Serra de Sintra, as can be seen in the inscription on the tombstone to the left of the altar.

Tombstone to the left of the altar

Later it was also known as the Convent of Capuchos (Capuchins), in allusion to the pointed capuchin of the characteristic habit of the Religious Order to which it was delivered.

Capuchin hood

According to their strict vows of poverty, the brothers refused property, so this house never belonged to the Order, and the Castro family remained the owner and patroness of the Convent until the date of the extinction of religious orders in Portugal in 1834.

Choir:
This room was used as a choir room and sacristy to receive illustrious visitors. Here, in the Coro Alto (High Choir), the chants of the Mass were sung while celebrated by one of the members of the community

Choir

Corridor of the Cells:
Passing through the door from the Choir, one enters the most intimate zone of the convent, restricted to the eight resident friars, and access to the novice, whose cell was located in a different area of the convent, was not even allowed.

Corridor of the cells

The interior of the cell was the only place where a friar could be alone with God – The reduced size of the doors, very low and narrow, would therefore force him to display a posture of humility, kneeling as he entered this space.

Small cell in Corrider of the Cells

Refectory:
Originally this space did not have a table – The granite stone that serves this function was given to the Convent by the Cardinal-King D. Henrique (both a Cardinal in the Catholic Church and King of Portugal and the Algarves) – Wanting to provide these men with relief from the trials at mealtime and knowing that they would not accept the comfort provided by a table and chairs, the Cardinal-King had this granite slab cut in the mountains to serve as a table.

Granite slab table

From the window on the left wall, decorated with loose tiles, dishes were passed from the kitchen.

Dishes passed through this window from the kitchen

Kitchen:
This space has an oven and other structures necessary for the preparation of food – It presents a system of collecting water to wash the utensils and containers for use in gardening.

Kitchen

Chapter Room:
The Chapter Room is a circular space where the community met – The niche houses an image in stone of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Chapter Room

Cell of Novices:
A space destined for the novice to enter the religious community, located in an access hall to the cloister, separated from the Corridor of the Cells.

House of Baths:
• This room served as a latrine and wash room for the friars.

House of baths

Up some stairs are upper rooms…

Cell of Penance:
This windowless room was used for treating diseases of the spirit, aiming at using deep recollection in the dark for meditation and reflection.

Nurseries:
In the nurseries two cells were opened for the sick as well as room that served for a pharmacy.

Hostels:
These two rooms would be destined for guests, mainly religious, of this or of other orders that, in passing, needed to stay here overnight.

Library:
A large room, ventilated and with plenty of natural light and, because it is raised in relation to the lower floor, it is also less subject to humidity, fundamental conditions for library functions.

Superior Room:
It seems to be a room endowed with comforts that the Friars would not enjoy, with an alcove for a cot, a deep closet and a small attached room that could serve for daily hygiene.

Exit the convent to the cloister…

Cloister:
Surrounded by a dense forest, the cloister has remained essentially unchanged since the early nineteenth century.

Cloister

Adjoining the Cloister is the…

Chapel or Hermitage of the Lord in the Garden:
This Chapel or Hermitage of the Lord in the Garden, is decorated in its main façade with frescoes of two notable Franciscans, Saint Francis of Assisi, on the left, bearing the stigmata, and on the right, Saint Antony of Lisbon, city where he was born, and of Padua, where he died and is buried.

Chapel or Hermitage of the Lord in the Garden

Touring the Nature Trail:
For several centuries, the woodland surrounding the building was cared for and maintained by the monks who lived in the convent, so that it survived the gradual deforestation of the Sintra hills.

Nature Trail map – Source: parquesdesintra.pt

Nature trail

Chapel of Behold the Man (Capela do Ecce Homo):
The name of this chapel has a special meaning…Ecce Homo or “Behold the Man” are the Latin words used by Pontius Pilate in the Vulgate translation of John 19:5; when he presents a scourged Jesus Christ, bound and crowned with thorns, to a hostile crowd shortly before his Crucifixion.

Chapel of Behold the Man (Capela do Ecce Homo)

Return to the cloister…

Fountain of the Ancient Gardens (Fonte das Hortas):
A tiled fountain close to the Ancient Gardens.

Fountain of the Ancient Gardens (Fonte das Hortas)

This concludes our tour of the Convent of the Capuchos (Convento Dos Capuchos). We hopped back on the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus and continued to the…

CHALET OF THE COUNTESS OF EDLA (CHALET DA CONDESSA D’EDLA):

After major restoration works in the wake of a fire that partially destroyed it in 1999, this building was opened recently to the public – It preserves the memory of one of the great love stories of Portuguese history and is included in the visitor route of the monumental complex of Pena Park, in the Serra de Sintra (Hills of Sintra), the first Cultural Landscape site classified as a Heritage of Humanity Site by UNESCO.

It was built according to the model of alpine chalets in vogue in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century by the King Consort D. Fernando II for the Countess of Edla, an Opera Singer with whom he fell and love and would marry in a second marriage in 1869, 16 years after the death of Queen D. Maria II.

Countess of Edla

The building is extremely picturesque, characterized by the horizontal marking of the external plaster, painted to imitate timber cladding, and by the extensive use of cork as a decorative element, covering door and window frames, eaves and verandas, as well as tree trunks backing onto the facades to support climbing plants.

Building exterior

The interiors are rich and well crafted, with stucco, frescoes and inlaid cork and copper.

Building interior

In the gardens around the Chalet, D. Fernando II and the Countess of Edla, influenced by the collecting spirit of the time, amassed botanical species from the four corners of the world – A special mention must be made of the Feteira da Condessa, one of the most exotic places in the garden, where tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand were carefully introduced to create a romantic setting full of drama

Gardens

This concludes of our tour of the Chalet of the Countess of Edla (Chalet da Condessa D’Edla). We took the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus for one more stop…

CASTLE OF THE MOORS (CASTELO DOS MOUROS):

Exploring the Castle:

Moorish Castle Map – Source: parquesdesintra.pt

Go under the archway and walk north on the entrance trail (total distance to the castle is approx. 400 meters).

Entrance archway

Entrance Trail

On the left you will see holes in the rock, which were silos or granaries – structures carved out of the rock to store cereals and legumes – This method of preserving food has been described in several Arabic agricultural texts.

Silos

Then you will come to the site of a tomb built by King Fernando II for the human bones exhumed during the work on the castle site.

Just past this tomb on your right is the Church of S. Pedro de Canaferrim – The first parish church of Sintra built in the 12th century following the reconquest by King D. Afonso Henriques I.

Church of S. Pedro de Canaferrim

Next on your left you will see an archaeological site for the castle.

Archaeological site

Then, finally, you will come to the entrance of the castle.

Entrance to the castle

To your left as you enter there are several sights (Old Stables, Cistern, Wells and Fountain, Gift Shop, Snack Bar/Cafeteria and Patio, Lookout Tower, and Grain Pits).

Old stables

Cistern

Grain pits

Wells

Snack bar

Return to the path by the castle entrance to continue exploring the rest of the castle. At the top of the rise, make a sharp right turn to explore the Castle Keep – encompassing the castle tower, this is where the civil or church authorities resided – It was the last stronghold in the castle in the event of an enemy attack.

Castle Keep

Views from the Castle Keep

From here start climbing the walls of the castle towards the top of the hill.

Walking the walls

When you come to the intersection with the path coming from the castle entrance, you will see a small opening under the path – this was the Door of Betrayal – a small escape door to the outside (it also allowed enemies to access the inside, and so was called the “Door of Betrayal”).

Door of Betrayal

Continue walking the walls to the top…

Retrace our steps back to the castle entrance. From here, we walked along a trail to Sintra…

VILA SASSETTI II TRAIL FROM THE CASTLE OF THE MOORS TO SINTRA:

Vila Sassetti II hiking trail from the Castelo dos Mouros to the Vila Sassetti

The first part of this trail was very steep, but well marked with steps in appropriate places.

Vila Sassetti II hiking trail

Vila Sassetti:
Victor Carlos Sassetti (1851-1915), owner of the Hotel Braganza, in Lisbon, and the Hotel Victor, in Sintra, was the original owner of the lands that are now the location of the Vila Sassetti.

The Sintra Municipal Council acquired the property in 2004 and, in 2011, Parques de Sintra purchased both Vila Sassetti and the adjoining property with the objective of preserving both its heritage value and making available a new means of access, via a pedestrian footpath, from the Historical Centre to the National Palace of Pena/the Moorish Castle as an alternative to the Pena ramp.

There is currently a project to remodel the interior, which remains closed to the public.