_The Alfama._--The Alfama, which represents Roman and Moorish Lisbon, is
less rich in archaeological interest than its great antiquity might
suggest, although parts of a Roman temple, baths, &c., have been
disinterred. But as the earthquake of 1755 did comparatively little
damage to this quarter, many of its narrow, steep and winding alleys
retain the medieval aspect which all other parts of the city have lost;
and almost rival the slums of Oporto in picturesque squalor. The most
conspicuous feature of the Alfama is the rocky hill surmounted by the
Castello de São Jorge, a Moorish citadel which has been converted into a
fort and barracks. The Sé Patriarchal, a cathedral founded in 1150 by
Alphonso I., is said by tradition to have been a Moorish mosque. It was
wrecked by an earthquake in 1344 and rebuilt in 1380, but the earthquake
of 1755 shattered the dome, the roof and belfry were subsequently
burned, and after the work of restoration was completed the choir and
façade were the only parts of the 14th-century Gothic church unspoiled.
In one of the side chapels is the tomb of St Vincent (d. 304), patron
saint of Lisbon; a pair of ravens kept within the cathedral precincts
are popularly believed to be the same birds which, according to the
legend, miraculously guided the saint's vessel to the city. The armorial
bearings of Lisbon, representing a ship and two ravens, commemorate the
legend. Other noteworthy buildings in the Alfama are the 12th-century
church of São Vicente de Fóra, originally, as its name implies,
"outside" the city; the 13th-century chapel of Nossa Senhora do Monte;
the 16th-century church of Nossa Senhora da Graça, which contains a
reputed wonder-working statue of Christ and the tomb of Alphonso
d'Albuquerque (1453-1515); and a secularized Augustinian monastery, used
as the archbishop's palace.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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