Batalha - July 2007

Santa Maria da Vitória na Batalha is a Dominican monastery - one of the best and original examples of Late Gothic architecture in Portugal – built to thank the Virgin Mary for the Portuguese victory over the Castilians in the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. What is extraordinary about this place it is that it took two centuries to build, starting in the 14th century and ending in the 16th century, spanning the reign of seven kings. The construction stoped when the king João III of Portugal decided to put all his efforts in the construction of the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon and so the Chapels were never ended – they are called As Capelas Imperfeitas (The Unfinished Chapels) and can be very easily missed as they are accessible only from the outside. What is amazing about this place is the contrast between the darkness of the
gothic passages and the light offered with generosity by the open air Chapels, from which
you can
have one of the most emotional views of the sky and the clouds.
I wonder how one can feel if it stayed there under the rain or when a storm begins....,
or how one could
feel coming to pray every Sunday in these Chapels, looking so straighforward in the sky.