The principal façade is 220 metres longo At
its extremities stand two
gigantic towers and in the middle rises the basilica, which is a perfect
specimen of the pompous and grandiose italIanism of Miguel Angelo,
remarkable in the harmony of its proportions and colours (as was already
described by Raczinsky). Enthusiastic praise has been lavished by all critics on the
interior, even by those who did not spare Ludovici their
censure. Not only lhe architecture, a classlc master-piece in his
profiles and lines (both as regards the artistic execution and
technique), but also its decoration (the splendid marbles
it contains)
(1), make the church an admirable structure of beauty and solemn
grandeur. It is in the form of a Latin cross and is 62,50 metres long
forming an almost square body with the side chapels. Some would have it
a copy on a reduced scale of St. Peter's in Rome, There are in truth
some analogies between the two churches, but it is a fact that
inspiration drawn from the Itallan renaissance was general at the time.
The façade which is surmounted by a pediment and has a tower on each
side is made up of two parts which reveal an observance of the rules of
Vignola, the De Benedictione balcony jutting out from the upper one; in
the tympanum of the pediment at the extremities of which are
flame-resembling flnials, there is flxed a jasper slab carved in relief
representing the group of the Vlrgin, the Holy Child and Saint Anthony,
the titulars of the Church.
The towers 68 metres high rise in 5 storeys, the 1st and 2nd of which,
subject to the Renaissance style of Vignola, contrast
/ 116 /
with the others in Portuguese baroque style of the 18th century, which
in
Dieulafoy's opinion revealed the Portuguese temperarnent. Flame-bearing
urins ornament the 5th and it is terminated by bulbous domes
from which rise vanes(2). The north tower holds 55 bells and the south one 54,
their weight amounting to 217.000 kilos of bronze; 46 and 17 of
them respectively make up the celebrated carillons(3). They are among the
best in the world and unique in the Peninsula. They were made at
Antwerp in 1730, and are rung either by hand or automatically. The exact
cost is not known, and that has been the cause of various
calculations from 1.200.000 francs (gold value), up to 6 million. The
most probable must be that of 1.600.000 francs (gold value). In
connectlon with this they relate the followlng anecdote: king John V had
ordered a carillon, but the factory, thinking the customer was not able
to pay, informed him it cost a million of cruzados (2 million francs gold value), and
in answer to that somewhat impertinent observation the
king is understood to have said: «It's
cheap, l'II have two».
A vestibule adorned wlth 22 statues of Carrara marble, of large
proportions and set in niches, precedes the church. All of them are the work of Italian sculptors and were made in Italy, as were also
the 54 in the interior of the Church and 4 of the façade. They represent
the
founders of religious orders, apostles, evangelists, doctors of the
Church. Some, such as those of St. Vincent, St. Bruno and St. Sebastian,
show excellent artistic work. This sculptural group forms the Itallan
school, which contrasts with the Portuguese one expressed in the
remaining sculptural work, especially the reredosses of the chapels.
The interior strikes one by its sumptuosity and perfect
correctness; it is manifest that in It is reproduced the jesuit
Italianism of the Church of Jesus in Rome. It is covered by a
/ 117 / cyllndrlcal vault; along the walls rise twin pilasters with
Scamozzi
capitals, about which Beckford says he never saw any so well carved. In
the side-chapels the reredosses stand out prominently as also the
Carrara lunettes with scenes of the life of the Blessed Virgln Mary
carved in high relief, which reveal the perfect sculptural work of the
Mafra school established by Alexander Giusti (or Justi). In the majestic
central portion of the nave rises the imposing dome, and at the
extremities of the transepts are the chapels of the Coronation of the
Blessed Virgin and the Sacred Heart wlth their Carrara reredosses.
The former is shut off by a fine screen of forged
iron with sculptured
bronze fittings.
The dome is composed of 4 parts: drum, cupola, lantern, and the cupola
of this last, imitating that of St. Peter's in Rome, and so being a
double one formed by two concentric cupolas. It is incontestably a
beautiful and magnificent work of art, among the best of the kind, and
strikingly enhances the perspective of the basilica. The lantern was cut
out of a single stone, but havlng been struck by lightning in 1766 it
was destroyed in part; its cupola is a monolith. From the top of the
lantern one can enjoy an admirable panorama with an extensive horizon
reaching seawards as far as the Berlengas.
The painting behind the high altar is by Trevisani, an excellent piece
of work, representing St. Anthony worshipping the Blessed Virgin. Above
it, resting on the pediment, is an enormous crucifix of jasper, 3 metres
high, surrounded by a halo of glory, made by the sculptor José Almeida.
The sumptuous organs are a prominent feature with their frames of lignum
vitae and gilt bronze fittings, which enchanted Byron so highly that he
went so far as to say they were the best he knew of. King John VI
ordered them to be made in the Arsenal of the Army in 1807. With the 4
in the transepts the church possesses six organs, a fact unique in the
world.
In the sacristy is shown a painting by Inacio Oliveira Bernardes, worthy
of admiration, representing the Blessed Virgin and St. Francis.
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