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The architectonic whole that comprises St Lawrence Church was conceived as a
College of the Society of Jesus in the city of Porto. The foundation stone was
laid on 20 August 1573 and the Jesuits settled there until their expulsion in
1759. Subsequently, the Discalced Hermits of St Augustine, who lived there
until the extinction of the Religious Orders in 1832, used it as a monastic
space. Soon afterwards, it was acquired by the Porto's Diocese for the
establishment of the Diocesan Seminary. This usufructuary keeps a museum of
Sacred Art and Archaeology on premises that used to belong to the Jesuit
College: the Common Entrance-hall, the Confessions' Corridor and the Church's
Choir. Dom Domingos de Pinho Brandão founded the museum, which must be
regarded, undoubtedly, as a Jesuitic space.
A College of the Society of Jesus had three individual areas, with different
functions: education spaces, areas for the members, and the church (Fausto
Sanches Martins).
The construction began in the 16th century, following a plan of the Jesuit
architect Silvestre Jorge, and lasted until the early 18th century. The
church's façade was concluded in 1709. The rhythm of the works suffered some
drawbacks but the vicissitudes ended thanks to the role played by Friar Luís
Álvares de Távora, who became the Superior in 1614. From that time onwards, the
works advanced concomitantly on the three areas that define the College.
Although not yet concluded, the church was opened to the divine service in
1627. The 1640s saw the embellishment of the chancel, with the construction of
its original retable and of the sacristy.
The last building stage of the church occurred between 1690 and 1709. The first
date coincides with the start of the façade and the last date with its
conclusion. The College's common entrance-hall had already been built at that
time (1675).
After the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1759, the Discalced Hermits of St
Augustine (commonly known as "Grilos") replaced all the church's wood carvings
by the present neoclassical ones, except for the altar of the Presentation, at
the top of the transept, on the Gospel side.
The church comprises a nave with intercommunicating chapels on the sides, a
transept illuminated by two big windows, and a chancel delimited by an imposing
Ionic triumphal arch. The whole covering system is vaulted, and especially
worthy of mention are the transept's groined vault -- a solution that was
repeated in other churches of the city -- and the chancel's barrel vault, where
the geometric stone decoration, natural to the Mannerist artistic style of
northern influence, prevails. The remarkable façade develops in two bodies,
divided into five vertical sections, of which the central one was advanced for
the insertion of the portal. The two slightly recessed lateral belfries are in
harmony with the façade through the use of little wings. The erudite programme
also comprises the notable use of the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders, the
resort to curved, triangular and interrupted frontons and to pyramids. The
founder's coat of arms, at the axis, marks the role of the Maecenas.
The building plan of the church is set amid an unquestionable erudite
atmosphere of synthesis between northern Mannerist and Italian influences.
The Presentation altar was a private chapel of one of the many Confraternities
established at the church. It was designed by António Vital Rifarto and
executed by the master wood-carvers Francisco Correia and António Pereira in
1729-1730. It is a beautiful piece in the style that had its origin during the
reign of King John I and which is characterised by the representative elements
-- reliefs, angels, cherubs, atlantes -- that are natural to an artist that
would prove his imagery vocabulary in different compositions, namely in some
tile panels that adorn the cloister of the Porto's Cathedral.
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