Our explorations of Portugal continue to the north and west of Sintra, in the towns of Mafra, Ericeira, and Magoito. Beyond Sintra, the landscape is a loose-knit of farmlands and beach towns, but home to several world-class attractions. There is train and bus service from Lisbon, but maybe this is not an ideal area for commuters. Tourists might take a bus, but there is no easy way to move between places, and we want to explore, so we rent a car.
Mafra
Mafra is home to the Palácio e Convento de Mafra, which includes the palace, hunting grounds, gardens, the convent, and a substantial neo-classical basilica. The outcome of a decree by Dom João V to honor his first-born, the construction dates from 1717, near the height of Portugal's literal golden age. According to the website, the Palácio is closed on Tuesdays, so we make a special point to schedule our trip on Thursday – except, of course, there is some kind of unannounced 'special meeting', and we settle for a (free) tour of the basilica.
The Basílica de Nossa Senhora e de Santo António centers the over-scaled west facade of the Real Edifício, two bell towers framing the temple-front. To the north and south, there are gold-toned wing-blocks with Doric porticos connecting two squat towers. The Basílica's bell towers are capped by galos; its pediment is topped by the cross. The temple-front is an interesting play in dimensions, with Ionic columns at the lower level standing just in front of Ionic pilasters, separating three arched entries. In the center, one pair supports a chunky, stone balcony, but on the sides, they support nothing. The pigeons have made these landing areas their own.
There are Composite columns above. Though identified on various 'authoritative' sites as Corinthian; I am certain they are Composite. In the bell towers, the next levels appear to be Corinthian and the next Composite, again – the orders are right there for comparison. The end-towers also have Composite capitals.
The entrance to the church is set above the Praça da Republica by a set of round stairs spilling from a set of rectangular stairs, all connected through the Praça by radial lines laid in the irregular calçadas. At the top, there is a broad landing where these radial lines come together, with a vista through the avenues of the town, to the clouds hanging over the Atlantic.
Through the iron gates, there is a vaulted gallery filled with sculpted figures of saints, all conveniently labeled. The architectural details are an 'almost-identifiable' deconstruction of brackets and moldings, measuring the rhythms and enclosing the figures. I particularly like the guttae detail under the three jazzy vases (are those vases?), at each side of the arched pediments, at the minor doorways; they look like triglyphs but aren't.
A similar, but smaller detail appears as a single 'keystone' above the main door, just under a large roundel with a relief of what looks like the Sagrada Família with the Sagrada Coração.
The nave of the church consists of three bays of arched chapels marked by pairs of Composite pilasters. Each chapel contains one of a cycle of sculptural reliefs, those panels flanked by even more sculpted figures. The chapel is capped with a polychromed dome (an excellent 3D tour is available here).
Looking back to the entrance, and the inward-facing details over the minor doorways, a single set of guttae are in the center as opposed to the ends. The molding forms a 'keystone' which anchors the base of a large, empty roundel – echoing the detail over the outer, main entrance.
Along the nave, before the crossing, there is an 'bonus' half-bay, with a minor doorway using the same 'empty roundel' theme. I don't think these are chapels, but passageways (according to the floor plans, they connect to stairs), yet they are also filled with sculpted figures – males saints to the north, and female saints to the south. The small elliptical domes in the passages as well as the cross-vaults for the clerestory windows are presented in raw, unpolished stone and mortar, while the rest of the church is beautifully finished.
There are two larger chapels at either end of the transept and a magnificent dome over the crossing. The panel at the north depicts the Santíssimo Sacramento, and the panel to the south shows the Sagrada Família. The view is partially screened by several massive, brass incense burners held aloft by dolphins and serpents – seven burners over the Sacramento and three burners over the Família.
Two smaller domed chapels are attached to the transept. Here, painted panels are accompanied by sculpted figures. In these chapels are paintings of São Pedro de Alcântara and Nossa Senhora da Conceição. Looking at the paintings, as opposed to the reliefs I think it's easier to read the story, easier to identify the characters and the relationships. But the figures jump out, like the Saint Francis Borgia carrying the skull of Isabella of Portugal, or the Archangel Micheal stepping on Satan's head. The sculptors' enthusiasm is evident.
Exiting the Basílica, and unable to tour the Palácio, we find the Jardim do Cerco (enclosed garden) just to the north of the Real Edifício. The Jardim features a wonderfully over-engineered irrigation system: inside a stone shed, a 'beast' is rigged to a wood spindle, the spindle turns a wooden gearing system, that turns a shaft connected to wheel, the wheel moves a chain of semi-cylindrical scoops, those scoops fill a channel with water, the water is guided to the top of the garden by an arched aqueduct. And the flowers bloom.
We leave the Jardim to search for lunch while exploring the historic center of Mafra. The radial avenues that depart the Praça begin bending just past the trees. Strange that from the grand stair landing, everything looks orderly, but from within the streets, it's all mixed up – perhaps it's the irregular plantings or the parked vehicles. Soon we come upon the Mercado Municipal thinking there might be food, and there is, but it's fresh vegetables and souvenirs (ie, not lunch). The talk between the local ladies is quick and loud, and cannot be interrupted. The town does its own thing.
From every angle, looking back, the Real Edifício hovers over Mafra. Driving, we pass a big sports complex (Parque Desportivo Municipal), and then a newer residential zone (Santa Barbara). That's the organization, from east to west: hunting grounds (tapada), formal gardens, royal complex, palace square, old town, soccer pitch, modern housing. At the edges, Mafra simply ends, and what remains is farmland. With options for growth, I wonder why the town has such discrete zones.
Ericeira
Ericeira is an old fishing village that has developed a reputation, and now attracts surfers and tourists from around the world, much like Nazaré. The beach area fills the coast between the Capela de São Sebastião to the north, and the Igreja de Santa Marta to the south. We approach from the south.
Santa Marta is the patron saint of servants, cooks, and single women – perhaps appropriate for a town full of fishermen to honor cooks. The parish church is the historical home to a sisterhood of single women and dates from 1760. The church is in remarkable condition, clean and bright. The plaster walls are painted to look like textured stone, and that paintwork is also fresh. The altar holds a Madonna and Child, and two female saints on either side (Santa Marta and Santa Luzia). Just below the figures, on the side walls are azulejos panels depicting the Annunciation and the Nativity; next to the Nativity is a smaller panel with two angels, apparently, worshipping the sun.
With that hint, we head for the beach and find it frosted with blooming ground cover (top-most image), reminding me of our visit to Pacific Grove. The walk along the seawall weaves into the narrow streets, then returns to beach. There are surfers and surf shops visible at every turn, and by Lisbon pandemic-standards, this feels busy.
There is enough commercial activity here that service vans and trucks whiz by, at times forcing us into doorways. After hopping out of one such doorway, I realize that I am hopping from the public restrooms. Looking up, we see that the restrooms are below the cross of a church, the Capela de Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem (chapel of our lady of happy travels) – a real convenience to have both facilities before you leave on a long trip.
Walking up the hill and stepping inside, we discover an open barrel vault coated with dazzling azulejos. At the altar, behind a plexiglass sheet, is a small Madonna holding the baby Jesus in one hand a sail boat in the other. The lower part of the altarpiece seems to be made from the painted wooden parts of an old ship. The small church sits atop a kind of prow (the restrooms), with a view out to the Praia dos Pescadores (fishermen's beach).
A closer inspection of the tiled cross reveals the same image of the Nossa Senhora holding Jesus and a sailing ship; the image is dated 1789. On her right is São João Evangelista, who seems to have pulled a feather from a goose in order to write in his book. On her left is Maria Magdalena (her birthplace, Magdala, also a fishing town).
The turn-around point of our walk is the Ermida de São Sebatião, a tiny, white, hexagonal chapel in an ocean of rectangular, grey parking spaces. This is another well-kept, fully-tiled space. The altarpiece here is in the Tuscan order, a colonnade displaying a healthy amount of entasis – appropriate as São Sebatião is often depicted as being bound to a column.
I left Mafra thinking how odd the separation of the historic center from the modern buildings; I leave Ericeira despairing at the mix – like the martyr São Sebatião, pierced by arrows yet alive. The old streets are forced to accommodate traffic, and the chapel bluff is paved for beach parking. The hillside is encrusted with surf hotels and weekend vacation homes. Ericeira's is a tale of two cities: fascinating and frightening, scenic and unsightly, sacred and profane. Lovely to visit, maybe it's not a place to call home.
Magoito
Our last stop is the village of Magoito, which is in the município (municipality) of Sintra. From the maps and images I researched, this seems like a part of Portugal less-changed by royal decrees or tourist demands. Not much more than a few crossroads; I drop a placemark where highway N603 meets the Rua da Igreja. On Google Maps, it's called out as Largo do Comércio, and stores and cafes seem to dot the corners.
In reality, it is remarkably unsubstantial – adorable, but unsubstantial. There's a mercearia (grocery store) with a few baskets of fruit, a clothing store with a few racks of clothes, and a cafe with room for four outdoor tables. Tiny versions of everything, and just enough to call this place a town. For example, we park next to a combo public fountain, ATM, and bus stop – water, money, and a way to get in and out, all in one tidy structure.
The Praia do Magoito is just down the road, and with nothing to hold us in town, we drive on. We arrive at a small concrete bunker, which the map calls the Forte de Santa Maria. The beach stretches to the south, a bare, sheer cliff-face and unspoiled sand. There are two surfers and a man fishing from the rocks. Another dozen or so are gathered at the seawall, waiting for the sunset. There are a handful of weekend houses, and along the roadside, a concise line of multi-story hotels – all apparently empty today. Oblivious, the ice plants bloom, and the ocean's edge continues largely unblemished.
Both Georgia and Portugal are settled into new baselines: Georgia at about fifteen hundred, and Portugal at about five hundred.
cases: 145,318,391 global • 32,669,121 USA • 832,891 Portugal
deaths: 3,084,619 global • 584,226 USA • 16,956 Portugal
UPDATE (Apr 26th): Georgia passes twenty thousand total deaths (20,009) due to COVID-19, with a seven-day average for daily deaths over thirty (32.1); Portugal is under seventeen thousand total deaths (16,965) with a seven-day average for daily deaths under three (2.7). Georgia has a total case count well over one million (1,094,580) and a seven-day average for daily cases over thirteen hundred (1,345.6); Portugal has a total case count over eight hundred thousand (834,638) and a seven day average for daily cases under five hundred (488.1).
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