The present Church of Sao Domingos was built subsequently to the 1755 earthquake of Lisbon on the site of a convent, the Sao Domingos Convent, retained by the national history as the place from where the Inquisition would deliver its sentences. The former convent dated back to the 12th century, meaning it was as old as the Lisbon Cathedral. The last major event which affected the Church of Sao Domingos was a fire in 1950, the traces of which can still be spotted: the scarcity of the decorations, the burnt pillars and the like.

Thus, the interior of the church offers one of the most dramatic sights in Lisbon. It is, however, majestically pegged out by the high altar (flanked by columns made of red marble and overtopped by the Holy Trinity) and by the sacristy, where the mortal remains of King Afonso III rested for centuries, until they eventually found a new shelter, in Alcobaca. The ceiling is the only one partially restored after 1950. The Church of Sao Domingos remains, in spite of all these considerations, a major tourist sight of Lisbon for people of all confessions and beliefs.

Name:
Church of Sao Domingos (Igreja de Sao Domingos)
Address:
Largo de Sao Domingos, Lisbon, Portugal
Opening hours:
7.30am to 7pm
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