Porto is an extraordinary place : for a Lincolnshire man from the Fens even more so : it is so HILLY : steps and crazy gradients everywhere. The compensating views, culinary delights and port wine more than compensate. After several days of viewing I could not understand which particularly large church kept protruding near our AirBNB cave in an old street near the Cathedral, or HOW to get there! An early morning excursion led me to the old Jesuit church or Grilos - now the Museum of Sacred Art and Archeaology.
When the Jesuits came to Porto in mid 16th century they were far from popular with the locals or the authorities. They started out in Rua do Grilo (Cricket Street) [crickets are bugs]and this seemed to fit with their black tunics so the nickname Igreja dos Grilos remains...
The free classes they gave bought them some support and donations, plus that given by Frei Luis Alvaro de Tavora. Therefore a church was started in 1577 and work went on up to the 18th century. After the Jesuits had been thrown out by Pombal in 1759 Augustinians took it over, and later it became a military barracks. It isn't really Baroque but for the interior and its contents I couldn't resist including it here. Alas no sound from the organ but it is used for concerts and recordings see below for a little video.
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| View down te nave from the organ loft |
The impressive organ
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| Note the beautiful azulejos and woodwork |
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