IGREJA DE SÃO ROQUE

Description

Essentials about the Igreja de São Roque in brief

Anyone looking from Largo Trindade Coelho square in Bairro Alto at the plain facade of the Igreja de São Roque (St. Roch’s Church) would hardly guess what treasures are hidden inside this church. The interior of the Jesuit church is a smorgasbord of gold, precious metals, other valuable materials and lots of art. Since the church was not destroyed in the Great Earthquake of 1755, it is undoubtedly one of the most glamorous and magnificent places of worship in all of Europe and thus worth a visit for any Lisbon traveler.

The history of the Igreja de São Roque

Historically, the Igreja de São Roque dates back to the devastating plague epidemic in Lisbon in 1505. Outside the city walls, where the church stands today, a cemetery was built for the plague victims. The Portuguese King Manuel I asked Venice for relics of St. Roch, the patron saint of plague victims. The Venetians complied with the request and so a chapel was built to keep the relics.

King João III gave the land to the Jesuits, who commissioned the construction of the church in 1566, entrusting it to the Italian master builder and architect Filippo Terzi. He directed the construction in collaboration with two Portuguese architects, Afonso and Bartolomeu Álvares. In 1596 the church was completed.

The severe Lisbon earthquake, which destroyed almost the entire city, caused minor damage only to the exterior facade of the Igreja de São Roque. St. Roch is a single-nave hall church in the Renaissance style. The facade is very plain, which can be explained by the austerity measures taken during the Counter-Reformation.

The interior of the Igreja de São Roque

The highlight inside the church is the São João Baptista (Saint John the Baptist) chapel, one of the most magnificent Catholic chapels in the world. It was commissioned in 1742 by King John V on the basis of a vow made in Rome, consecrated in 1744 by Pope Benedict XIV, disassembled and brought to Lisbon in 1749 by three ships, where it was reassembled. Only the most precious materials were used, such as the finest marble for the floor, as well as alabaster, lapis lazuli, ivory, jade and amethyst. A total of about 100 Italian artists were involved in the construction of the chapel, which was based on designs by the famous Luigi Vanvitelli. The most famous among them was Nicola Salvi, who had also designed the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome. A drawn armillary sphere, the emblem of King Manuel I and at the same time the coat of arms of Portugal, is embedded in the marble floor. The king financed the incredibly expensive work with the gold obtained from the Portuguese colony of Brazil.

The rest of the interior decoration is also remarkable. The coffered ceiling and the accompanying ceiling painting (a trompe-l’œil) were completed in 1588. The wood had to be procured from Germany at that time, since wood of this size could not be obtained anywhere on the Iberian Peninsula. Many candlesticks in the individual chapels were made by renowned artists. And as is customary in Portugal, gilded carvings can be found throughout the church.

The Museo de Arte Sacra de São Roque

The Museo de Arte Sacra de São Roque (Museum of Sacred Art), adjacent to the church building, was formerly a poorhouse and foundling hospital. It also houses magnificent works of art by Portuguese masters Gregorio Lopes, Baltasar Coelho da Silveira, Gaspar Dias and Vieira Lusitano, among others. Furthermore, the museum houses many pieces of furniture, incense burners, relics, crucifixes and other sacred objects.