MONASTERY OF ALCOBAÇA, PORTUGAL

The church of many Portuguese kings!

The world hides many attractions, secrets, and history that are very attractive to adventurers, historians and people in general who are interested in knowing that world that was at the time a plus of the great empire that ruled the West and from which various intellectual movements would later emerge.

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architectural that would make this a continent full of lights that would vanish the darkest shades respectively. Well, Europe is the cradle of the intellect, the arts, and architecture in what the Western world is concerned. Taking this to more specific countries we are before a catalog of varieties of different destinations because each country hides secrets, mysteries, and history that make it attractive.

In the case of visiting Portugal, one of the most visited destinations by Latin Americans because it belongs to this range of European countries that made colonies in the new world, it should be noted that this nation has many peculiarities that make it a tourist point of much weight, because it has many works and emblematic sites but one of the buildings that must be visited in this country is the Monastery of Alocaba or Albaida de Alocaba, it is a site that keeps history, legend, and art in every inch it occupies.

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Monastery of Alocaba declared as a World Heritage Site (whs) by U.N.E.S.C.O began its construction in 1178 and is completed in 1252, begun in the reign of the Portuguese King Alfonso Enrique or Alfonso I, the main reason for this immense architectural work It was part of the plan of the king, in turn, to consolidate its political power through the clergy and likewise the attempt to colonize the new land that had been conquered through its crusaders.

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Note that at the beginning of the thirteenth century, this wonderful structure was in full construction of its wonderful areas and sculptures, but in the intellectual field, and the thinkers who would occupy that space had already made this a dissemination such that the entire peninsula Iberian was aware of this religious current that made it a very particular point to make faithful from before the monastery opened its doors.

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It is necessary to mention that this wonderful work of Portuguese colonial architecture is a clear example of the influence of the Gothic style in ecclesiastical constructions, because its windows, corridors, entrances and various spaces that are in this wonderful space make this a clearer example of what is the early Gothic entering Portugal, because from this work began a myriad of buildings in the country with the same style, because the Gothic at that time was the current architectural style.

It has always been thought that since the beginning of this incredible work that has kept a close relationship with the sacred lineage of the kings of Portugal, because they are God's sent to this world to fulfill their will is easy to consider the influence they had the kings by virtue of influencing the construction, design, and style that a construction had in spite of having an architect who took the leadership and command of the entire work.

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A clear example where the history, myth and even the influence of the king in the clergy or vice versa are present, is the one that tells the story of King Pedro and his lover Ines, who was killed by orders of Alfonso IV, father of King Pedro. The latter, moved by the facts, ordered to build twin tombs for the rest of the remains of his beloved lover and one equal to his height and average for when he left this world to meet his creator.

The architects heeded the call of their king and created tombs suspended by pillars and these tombs were guarded by angels who ensured the eternal rest of the king and his partner in paradise when they left the earthly world. It is necessary to mention that the legend of the zone says that after culminating the guarded sarcophagi, he named his deceased queen of Portugal, making members of the royal court kiss his rotting hand as a gesture of pleasure and honor.

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Undoubtedly, a place where very interesting topics converge that undoubtedly makes the spaces come alive and so that the facts become reality because each space is full of antiquity and history that make the experience more meaningful.

In short, if you visit Portugal, you must come to the Monastery of Alocaba, for a walk through unique spaces awaits you, where Gothic is the main author of art, visiting spaces where love and madness made works left a mark on their spaces.

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