Afonso III , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , the Bolognian Afonso III , or Affonso (Archaic Portuguese), Alfonso or Alphonso (Portuguese-Galician) or Alphonsus (Latin), the Bolognian Afonso III ' onMouseout='HidePop("59628")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Earthquake">earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph...
. In the 1440s, the cathedral workshop was given a great impulse by
King Afonso VAfonso V , called the African , was the twelfth King of Portugal and the Algarves. His sobriquet refers to his conquests in Northern Africa....
. This building campaign produced the
apsethumb|250px|Triple apse of [[Basilica di Santa Giulia]], northern [[Italy]].In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
with its three chapels, the
transeptFull descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram.
For the periodical go to The Transept....
and the main portal, in Gothic style, dating from the 1470s. The three-
aisleAn aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on either side or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other. Aisles can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings such as churches, Cathedrals...
d
naveIn Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
was only finished in the early 16th century.
When
King John IIJoão II , the Perfect Prince , was the thirteenth king of Portugal and the Algarves...
died unexpectedly in Alvor (
PortimãoPortimão is a city located in the District of Faro in the Region of Algarve on the southern coast of Portugal. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão . In 1924 it was incorporated as a city and became known as Portimão. The city has 45,000 inhabitants and the Portimão Municipality 52,000...
), near Silves, in 1495, he was provisionally buried in the main chapel of Silves Cathedral. In 1499, in the presence of
King Manuel IManuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Fernando, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatriz of Portugal.His mother was the granddaughter of King John I of...
, his remains were exhumed and transferred to the Monastery of Batalha, where John II was permanently re-buried; however, his tomb slab with a Gothic inscription is still located on the floor of the main chapel of Silves Cathedral. Many important personalities of Silves were buried in the cathedral during the 15th and 16th centuries, as attested by the many tomb slabs on its floor.
Economic difficulties and a diminishing population plagued the history of Silves in the 15th and 16th centuries, leading to the bishop staying for long periods away from Silves. The most notable of the bishops at this time was Jerónimo Osório, one of the greatest Portuguese
humanistRenaissance Humanism was a European intellectual movement that was a crucial component of the Renaissance, beginning in Florence in the latter half of the 14th century. The humanist movement developed from the rediscovery by European scholars of Latin literary and Greek literary texts. Initially,...
s and theologians. It was during his rule, in 1577, that the bishopric seat was transferred from Silves to
FaroFaro is a city in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the district of Faro and capital of the Algarve region. The Algarve and Faro district cover the same territory.-History:The Ria Formosa...
, a more prosperous city located by the coast. In the next centuries the interior of the church was enriched with Mannerist and
BaroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
altarpieceAn altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
s, some of which still exist.
The
Great Earthquake of 1755The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, took place on 1 November 1755, at around 9:40 in the morning. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami and fires, which caused near-total destruction of Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal, and adjoining areas...
struck a terrible blow for Silves and its cathedral and destroyed part of the nave. The building was repaired and modified, replacing the simple Gothic forms of the upper part of the main façade with
RococoRococo is a style of 18th century French art and interior design. Rococo rooms were designed as total works of art with elegant and ornate furniture, small sculptures, ornamental mirrors, and tapestry complementing architecture, reliefs, and wall paintings...
voluteA volute is a spiral scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals...
s. The
bell towerA bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
and the south portal are also 18th-century additions.
In the 20th century, an extensive renovation of Silves Cathedral suppressed many of the Baroque additions and returned the building to a more "mediaeval" look.
Art and architecture
From the outside, a striking aspect of Silves Cathedral is the contrast between the
whitewashWhitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, or calsomine is a very low cost type of paint made from slaked lime and chalk...
ed surfaces of the walls and the red
sandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow,...
(
grés de Silves) of the
apsethumb|250px|Triple apse of [[Basilica di Santa Giulia]], northern [[Italy]].In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
, windows and main portal.
The main portal, executed in the 1470s, is inserted on a stepped rectangular moulding (
alfizThe alfiz , architectonic adornment, is a moulding, usually a rectangular panel, which encloses the outward side of an arch...
), a common feature on the façades of Portuguese mediaeval buildings since the
RomanesqueRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe, characterised by semi-circular arches, and evolving into the Gothic style, characterised by pointed arches, beginning in the 12th century...
era. Other primitive features of the portal are the figurative corbels of the upper
corniceA cornice is horizontal molded projection that completes a building or wall; or the upper slanting part of an entablature located above the frieze...
of the moulding, representing animal and human faces. The portal consists of a series of four columns and several pointed-arch
archivoltAn archivolt is an ornamental molding or band following the curve of the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental moldings surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the architrave in the case of a rectangular opening...
s. The outer archivolt is decorated with a series of reliefs of vegetal motifs and human figures, some playing musical instruments. The decoration of the
capitalsIn several traditions of architecture including Classical architecture, the capital forms the crowning member of a column or a pilaster. The capital projects on each side as it rises, to support the abacus and unite the form of the latter with the circular shaft of the column...
of the columns reveals the influence of the Batalha workshop, which was active in the 15th century. Interestingly, the portal of the main church of
PortimãoPortimão is a city located in the District of Faro in the Region of Algarve on the southern coast of Portugal. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão . In 1924 it was incorporated as a city and became known as Portimão. The city has 45,000 inhabitants and the Portimão Municipality 52,000...
, located nearby, is almost a replica of the one in Silves and is believed to have been executed by the same artisans . The South portal is a Baroque addition (18th century).
Silves Cathedral is a Latin cross church with a three-
aisleAn aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on either side or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other. Aisles can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings such as churches, Cathedrals...
d
naveIn Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
,
transeptFull descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram.
For the periodical go to The Transept....
and three chapels in the east end. The east side of the church with transept was built earlier (mid-15th century) than the nave (probably early 16th century). The eastern chapels and transept are covered by Gothic stone
rib vaultThe intersection of two or three barrel vaults produces a rib-vault or ribbed vault when they are edged with an armature of piped masonry often carved in decorative patterns; compare groin vault, an older form of vault construction...
ing, while the nave aisles are covered by a simple wooden roof. It is likely that the original plan called for the whole church to be covered by stone vaulting like other Portuguese cathedrals built at the time, like the Cathedral of Guarda. The aisles of the nave are separated by arches of pointed profile supported by columns of octagonal cross section. The south transept arm is illuminated by a large
mullionA mullion is a structural element which divides adjacent window units.Mullions may be made of any material, but wood and aluminum are most common, although stone is also used between windows. Mullions are vertical elements and are often confused with transoms, which lie horizontally...
ed window with Gothic
traceryTracery is an architectural term used primarily to describe the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
.