Hermitage of Restelo (Ermida de Restelo) | |
Chapel of the Hieronymites | |
Hermitage (Ermida) | |
The lateral profile of the Chapel of São Jerónimo
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Official name: Capela de São Jerónimo/Ermida de Restelo | |
Named for: Saint Jerome | |
Country | Portugal |
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Region | Lisbon |
Subregion | Greater Lisbon |
District | Lisbon |
Municipality | Lisbon |
Location | Santa Maria de Belém |
- elevation | 69 m (226 ft) |
- coordinates | 38°42′4.80″N 9°12′49.35″W / 38.7013333°N 9.2137083°WCoordinates: 38°42′4.80″N 9°12′49.35″W / 38.7013333°N 9.2137083°W |
Length | 8.25 m (27 ft), Northwest-Southeast |
Width | 15.00 m (49 ft), Southwest-Northeast |
Architects | Rodrigo Afonso, Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles |
Materials | Limestone, Azulejo, Stonework |
Origin | c. 1496 |
- Initiated | fl. 1572 |
Owner | Portuguese Republic |
For public | Public |
Easiest access | Rua Pero da Covilhã; Rua António Saldanha |
Management | Instituto Gestão do Patrimonio Arquitectónico e Arqueológico; DRC LVT |
Operator | Roman Catholic Diocese of Lisbon |
Status | National Monument |
Listing | Decree 32/973; DG, Série I, 175, 18 August 1943; ZEP, 46/96, DR, Série II, 126, 30 May 1996 |
Location of the church in the municipality of Lisbon
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The Hermitage of Restelo (Portuguese: Ermida de Restelo), alternately Chapel of Saint Jerome (Portuguese: Capela de São Jerónimo), is a hermitage in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém, in the municipality of Lisbon. The religious architecture has Manueline and revivalist Neo-manueline elements, consisting of a single-nave structure with a vaulted ceiling and surrounded by a modernist landscape, as evidenced by a preoccupation with choice of plants and manicured environment (completed by Gonçalo Ribeiro), in order to create a zone of protection for the hermitage.
The Hermitage of Restelo (Portuguese: Ermida do Restelo) was already in disrepair when Vasco da Gama and his men spent the night in prayer there before departing on their expedition to the Orient in 1497. The canonical foundations of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Blém were established in 1496 at the hermitage, which belonged to the Order of Christ. Two years later, the buildings were donated by royal proclamation to the Order of Saint Jerome, which occupied them in 1499.
Between 1513-1545, King Manuel I acquired lands and buildings for the new monastery in Belém. On 20 March 1514, the first round of construction began with the excavation, transport, and assembly of the stonework to build the Church of Santa Maria de Belém. The first blocks arrived in 1516, and were immediately used to define the churchyard and build the foundations of the structure. In 1517 a new chapel was constructed within the limits of the monastery, which then consisted of a group of hermitages (of which only the Chapel of Santo Cristo remains), for the retreat and meditation of the monks. Diogo Rodrigues, the supervisor and receiver-general for the project, paid Rodrigo Afonso 1,500 Portuguese réis for work completed on the Church of Saint Jerome.