Igreja de São Domingos: The Church That Kept Its Scars
Why is it significant?
Step inside, let your eyes adjust to the dim red light, and look at the columns. They are cracked, blistered and blackened, the stone peeled away in great flakes as if the church had been flayed. Nobody has painted over it. That was the point.
Key Facts
| Place | Igreja de São Domingos: The Church That Kept Its Scars |
|---|---|
| Address | Largo de São Domingos, 1100 Lisboa, Portugal |
| Geo Coordinates | 38.71470, -9.13830 |
| Part of Walk | After the Earthquake: The Baixa Pombalina and the Lisbon of 1755 |
| Generated | Generated |
Step inside, let your eyes adjust to the dim red light, and look at the columns. They are cracked, blistered and blackened, the stone peeled away in great flakes as if the church had been flayed. Nobody has painted over it. That was the point.
The Dominicans founded this church in the thirteenth century, and its history is heavy. In April 1506, during a service here, someone claimed to see a miraculous light on a crucifix. A New Christian, a converted Jew, voiced doubt, and he was dragged out and killed. Stirred up by preaching friars, mobs then hunted New Christians through the streets of Lisbon for three days. Somewhere between two and four thousand people were murdered. King Manuel later punished the city and had friars executed.
Thirty years later the Inquisition came to Portugal, and the Dominicans were at its heart. Processions of the condemned set out from this part of the city on their way to the autos-da-fé, the public ceremonies where sentences were read, and some victims were burned. In the square outside, a memorial set up in 2008 remembers the victims of 1506 and calls Lisbon a city of tolerance, which is partly a promise.
The earthquake of 1755 brought much of the church down, and it was rebuilt. Then, on 13 August 1959, fire broke out and raced through the interior, destroying the altars and paintings. When it finally reopened in 1994, the decision was made to keep the damage visible: the scorched stone, the broken surfaces, the ghost of the gold.
It is one of the most powerful interiors in Lisbon precisely because it refuses to look new. Outside, the little square is a lively meeting place, where you will often hear the languages of Portugal's former African colonies. Now step out and walk a few metres west into the long square beyond, the Rossio, and stop in front of the theatre with the columns.