Even till today the causes of the construction of this
monument have
not been rigorously ascertained. Tradition imputes it to a prophecy as
follows: it was in the year 1711 and Queen Mariana of Austria showed no
signs of fecundity necessary for having a successor to the Crown, although
she had been married for three years. This lamentable fact made the
court uneasy. One day the Chaplain in ordinary Bishop D. Nuno da Cunha
and a Franciscan friar Frei António de S. José chanced to meet in the
palace, and conversing about the queen's sterility the bishop begged
the friar (who was held to be a saint) to recommend the King to God. The
friar answered in a sibylline way: "the king will have children if he
wants to.» The bishop was astonished, and a few days after asked the
friar for an explanation of such extraordinary words of him and received
as an answer: «Iet the king promise to build a convent in the town of
Mafra, dedicated to St. Anthony, and he will immediately have an heir».
As soon as king John V heard of this, he made a
solemn
vow to construct the convent if he should have children.
And a few weeks after the queen found herself pregnant.
It seems, however, that the friar did not work the miracle but rather
created the danger to the queen of her losing the crown. It is reported
the Duke of Cadaval once said to the king:
«let the queen see to bearing children, for such is her duty, if not,
things may turn out iII for her». In face of that threat, she may perhaps have decided to stifle her spite and
melt her coldness provoked
by the king's infidelity, in order to avoid a bull of divorce based on
the lack of offspring, which John V would pay for handsomely.
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The initial project provided room for 13 Franciscan friars, the number
of whom rose afterwards to 80, which served for sketching the plan to be
competed for. Finally, in 1729 king John V decided on enlarging the
construction in order to hold 300 friars, which necessitated the
destruction of much of the work already done. Only three projects
appeared at the competition, those of António Canevari, the Abbot Filipe
de Juvara, and João Frederico Ludewig, the project of the latter being
the one preferred. It is said that Juvara's was more elegant and
graceful, showing the influence of the French customs of Louis XVI and
the Regency, but for that very reason it did not appeal to the national
spirit of the age. This latter was well known to Ludewig (or Ludovici)
who had lived in Portugal from 1713, and that enabled him the better to
satisfy the taste of the court. The choice of his project, however,
caused a great agitation, for it was attributed to the protection of the
court and the jesuits.
The first stone was laid in 1717 in the midst of imposing pomp, which
cost 200.000 cruzados, that is, 400.000 francs (gold value). At first
some 20.000 men of all trades worked daily, but when in 1729 the plan
was enlarged to provide for 300 friars, and the king pledged himself
to have the church consecrated in 1730, the said number rose to 47.000 and 52.000, guarded and policed by 7000 soldiers. Some columns weighed
more than 100 arrobas (3200 Ibs); among the hugest stones were: that of
the balcony of the room De Benedictione (weighing 2112 arrobas, 67.584
Ibs, which was drawn by 100 team of oxen), and that of the lantern (96
metres in circumference and 13 in height). The consecration took place
on the 22nd Oct. 1730, and was a feast remarkable for its stupendous
magnificence, the most celebrated in the world, extending over eight
days.
The sumptuosity imported to it and its ornamentation kept pace with its
construction, Rome, Venice, Milan, Genoa, Liège, France and Holland,
received frequent orders for articles relating to worship and
embellishment.
The cost of the whole monument is not known. Some have
/ 113 /
calculated it at 28, 48, and 54 millions of cruzados (56, 96, and 108
millions of francs, gold value).
It occupies the enormous area of 4 hectares and its
plan is almost
square. The construction is undoubtedly a heavy one, with hardly any
gracefulness, but it is not sombre like the Escorial, and it forms a perfect and stately example of Italian renaissance architecture, an
admirable building, well-proportioned, homogeneous and harmonious in its
ensemble. Raczinsky classified it as a «grand monument régulier», and
its realisation struck with amazement the Prince of Licknowsky. It
contains 890 halls and rooms, 300 cells, 4500 doors and windows, 154
staircases. The foundations in some places are 5 metres wide. It is
covered with brick terraces slightly convexed, after the Eastern style,
from which can be enjoyed the beautiful aspect of the whole, suggestive
of a Moorish city.
A few strangers, iII-advised, have sought to consider Mafra as a copy of
the Escorial, although the differences between the two buildings are
rather great. This error in appreciation is analogous to that of such
as state the palace of Queluz to be a reproduction of that of Versailles.
It seems, however, that unfavourable criticism was due more to iII-will
towards the architect than to real conviction.
By reason of the departure of the royal family for Brazil on the
occasion of the 1st French invasion (1807), Mafra was abandoned. A
great part of its riches were taken with him by the king when he
embarked, others were plundered. Owing to these
facts and to the abandonment of scores of years and the wrong
application of the edifice, it is today as regards its magnificence,
reduced to a mere remnant. The church, however, is still distinguished
for its valuable artistic ornaments.
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