Happy Halloween! Let's dive into a famous, significant and quite spooky part of Portuguese culture. Jerónimos Monastery is over 500 years old and has functioned as a home for monks, a religious center, a bed and breakfast for passing sea travelers, an orphanage and the resting place of kings, poets and explorers over those many years. Overall, Jerónimos is a beautiful architectural wonder that draws thousands of visitors from all over the world (including myself) to explore the monastery.
Jeronimos is considered the most visited landmark in Portugal. Construction on the monastery began in 1500, and it took over 100 years to complete this work. The construction is impressive, and the location is everything -- it sits at the mouth of Lisbon’s famous bay, where the Tagus River spills into the Atlantic Ocean. Monks who lived and worked at the monastery would help travelers, merchants and explorers find shelter in the bay. These monks must have been pretty special because this was where Portugal’s famous pastry pastel de nata was invented!
I will talk more about this later...but you should know that a giant earthquake and tsunami destroyed the majority of Lisbon in 1755.
