Portugal - Lisbon, São Vicente de Fora

The monastery of São Vicente de Fora (meaning: Monastery of St. Vincent Outside the Walls) was founded in 1147 by the first Portuguese king Dom Afonso Henriques for the Augustinian Order, as the result of a vow made to the martyr Saint Vincent in thanksgiving for the recovery of Lisbon from the Moor.

He had built a simple temple and although many improvements were made during the first half of the 16th century, the building was very much decayed and in risk of ruin. King Filipe II of Spain, who had also become king of Portugal in 1580, decided that the church and monastery of São Vicente de Fora should be completely rebuilt. The works started in 1582 and the new church was consecrated in 1629. However the rest of the works went on until the 18th century. During the 1755 earthquake the buildings were severely damaged. It took almost a century before the monastery and the church were restored to their present state.

The buildings are designed in an austere style, which is typical for the Portuguese architecture of the 16th century. The monastery with its two cloisters is beautifully decorated with hand-painted blue and white azulejos (tiles), showing panels based on the fables of La Fontaine.