Friday 27 November 2020

AQUEDUCT OF PEGÕES (TOMAR - PORTUGAL)


AQUEDUCT OF PEGÕES ( TOMAR )

39°  36′ 31″ N,  8°  26′  27″ W

The Aqueduct of the Convent of Christ, also called the Aqueduct of Pegões, was built with the purpose of supplying water to the Convent of Christ in Tomar from 4 different springs, and is about 6 km long, crossing the parishes of Carregueiros and the Union of Parishes of São João Baptista and Santa Maria dos Olivais, in the municipality of Tomar.

Its construction began in 1593, in the reign of Filipe I of Portugal, under the direction of Filipe Terzio, (chief architect of the kingdom) and was completed in 1614.

History
Upon becoming King of Portugal, Filipe II of Spain, it also came, by virtue of the crown, to be the Master of the Order of Christ. It was in this capacity that he commissioned Filipe Terzi (Filippo Terzi) to build an aqueduct that would supply the convent and the land around the Sete Montes (currently Mata Nacional) with abundant water.

Thus, a grandiose work of hydraulic engineering emerged in the architecture and convent landscape, covering an extension of about 6 kilometers, with a total of 180 arches for the aerial passages of the conduit. Particularly audacious is the stretch over the Pegões valley, made up of 58 full-round arches, in the deepest part of the valley resting on 16 broken arches, in turn erected on imposing masonry massifs: the "pegões".

Background
Although the cisterns of the Joanine convent (built in the various cloisters and supplied by the collection of rainwater) were sufficient for the needs of the friars, the water was insufficient for cultivating the land around the convent.

Construction and conservation
The layout of the aqueduct was executed in 1584 by Filipe Terzio, chief architect of the Kingdom, starting work in 1593. After the architect's death, the direction of the building work passed to Pedro Fernandes de Torres. The first phase of the work would only be completed in 1614, the date on which Philip II came to Portugal and inaugurated the work, as indicated by the engraved inscription on the aqueduct.

In 1616, with Diogo Marques Lucas already in charge of the work, the pipeline of the aqueduct was extended to the convent building, reaching the washbasin in the bedrooms the following year, and reaching the main cloister in 1619, the date on which the work was completed. . Its conclusion is marked by the Monumental Fountain of the Main Cloister (also known as the Cloister of the Philips).

Period of operation
The Aqueduct was in service from 1614 until the middle of the 20th century (more than 330 years).

Present
The monument (as a whole, covering more than 6km) is largely in an advanced state of degradation and abandonment, despite the layout being consolidated and the building intact, which will allow for its repair and conservation.
The upper sections, between springs, are the ones that show the most damage due to the abandonment of cultivated fields, currently taken over by vegetation and weeds.

Damage

Over the years and after the abandonment of the use of the aqueduct in the 17th century. XX, damages have been registered:
- Thefts of stone elements, covering slabs over the years;
- Damage to the source of Cano in the installation of a water conduit, 2005;
- Constructions and buildings adjoining the monument;
- Adventure sport activities (motocross, 4x4);
- Vandalism.

Characteristics
The morphology of this territory is composed of the intersection of a set of shallow valleys. The settlement of this space is characterized by the dispersion of small clusters and couples, mostly located next to road accesses, such as the village of Carregueiros and the place of Brasões.

On the slopes of the valleys, eucalyptus cultivation predominates, which has increased significantly in recent decades. In the low areas there are orchards and vineyards, and next to the water lines, vegetable gardens on small plots of land, with various structures for hydraulic use such as dams, canals and wells, as well as masonry walls that act as water basins. retention and infiltration (next to the 2 springs further north).

The aqueduct is a structure for transporting water with a linear length of 6223 m, made of stone piping, covered with slabs, running largely at ground level, with about 400 m built on arcades (air sections that make up a total of 180 perfect back arcs). It is fed by four underground springs, the water being transported by limestone gutters in half canes, by gravity.

The insertion of this hydraulic system in the territory begins at an altitude of 153.43 m upstream, at the source of the pipe, and ends at an altitude of 127.15 m, downstream, at the point of intersection with the roof of the convent building, overcoming this forms 26.28 meters of unevenness. Under the principle of gravitational force, the aqueduct of the Convent of Christ maintains a slope from upstream to downstream with inclinations that vary between 0.2% and 1.5% for most of its length.
In the steepest area, over the Pegões valley, the arches are based on a set of 16 broken arches. At the ends of the structure, two mothers of water were built, externally topped by domes, and which in the vaulted interior house large basins for the purification of water.

Aerial section of the Felpinheira valley
The aerial stretches of the Felpinheira valley are made up of twelve round arches, measuring around 15 meters at the highest point.

Monumental aerial section [of the valley] of Pegões
The aqueduct has 58 round arches, in its highest part, over 16 pointed arches supported by pillars. Its maximum height is 30 meters. At the ends, it has vaulted water houses, which have a large sink in the center for decanting water.

In the water house downstream of Ribeira do Choupal, the inscription:

"THE UNVICTED AND VERY CATHOLIC KING D. PHILIP I OF THE NAME, OF PIA MEMORIA, WITH REAL LIBERALITY, ORDERED THIS AQUEDUCT TO BE MADE IN THE YEAR 1593 / WITH THE SAME, THE AUGUST ISSUE AND CHRISTIAN KING D. PHILIP HIS SECOND SON OF NAME MADE IT FINISH 1613"

There are 34 round arches, which cross a shallow valley, and running parallel to the fence wall are 2 arches with 18 and 13 arches;

Adduction
Drinking water is transported from the most remote spring to the convent by gravity, in open limestone gutters with a semicircular cross-section, joined together by a chamfered male-female fitting, with consolidation and waterproofing mortar.

The volumetry of the archetypal gutter that conducts the water is defined in a rectangular prism, hollowed out by a half-ellipse cross-section measuring 0.31 m on the major axis and 0.17 m on the minor axis, is 1.74 m long and its external width oscillates between 0.49 m and 0.57 m, in thickness it measures 0.22 m. This rests on the base of the conduit, gallery or building and presents section variations along the transport, from upstream to downstream. It is immediately after the source of Porta de Ferro that the minor axis of the ellipse of the gutter section starts to register 0.30 m, showing the increase in the flow captured in this source.

Surface sections
They correspond to 66.3% of the set, equivalent to 4,127.46 m, divided into fifteen sections of varying lengths, with the longest section 738.74 m long and the smallest 12.00 m.

Aerial sections
They correspond to 25.6% of the set, equivalent to 1,596.88 m, divided into eleven sections of varying lengths, with the longest section in the Pegões valley measuring 612.12 m and the smallest measuring 40.00 m, along instead of Casal Ribeiro.

Buried sections
They correspond to 8.1% of the set, equivalent to 506.66 m, divided into five sections of varying lengths, the longest section having 310.00 m and the smallest 31.00 m.

Cadeira d'El Rei reservoir and water distribution
Reaching the convent fence, the aqueduct would flow into a large irrigation tank, which distributed water to irrigate the fence, to the oil press (currently in ruins) and to the convent's hydraulic system.

On the outer side of the fence, where a door would have been, a Latin inscription was placed in a frame referring to the execution of the first phase of the work:

"The extensive aqueduct and very high mole that a short while ago, crawling, was erected by favor of kings, cutting through the mountains, crossing deep valleys, despite the strength of work and money, on a long journey led here or rather led by the two Philips: the that the arms of so many kings did not make. 1614".

Between the Cadeira d'El Rei and the Convent, the route initially develops in a superficial section and next to the old wine press, running parallel to the fence wall 2 arches with 18 and 13 arches.

Finally, the aqueduct reaches the Convent building in a curtain of 21 arches, also round, topped by the cross of Christ, in which the latter are adjacent to the south façade.












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CONVENT OF CHRIST (World Heritage)



CONVENT OF CHRIST 
(World Heritage)
39°36′17″N; 8°25′3″W

The Convent of Christ (Portuguese: Convento de Cristo) is a former Catholic convent in Tomar, Portugal. Originally a 12th-century Templar stronghold, when the order was dissolved in the 14th century the Portuguese branch was turned into the Knights of the Order of Christ, that later supported Portugal's maritime discoveries of the 15th century. The convent and castle complex is a historic and cultural monument and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983.

History
Templars
The convent was founded by the Order of Poor Knights of the Temple (or Templar Knights) in 1118. Its construction continued until the final part of the 12th century with the construction of the oratory, in one of the angles of the castle, completed by the Grand Master D. Gualdim Pais (some time around 1160). Around 1190 it was encircled and resisted the armies of caliph Abu Yusuf al-Mansur who was successful in taking strongholds in the south. (A plaque was erected near the entrance to the castle to commemorate this event).


During the second quarter of the 13th century, Tomar was transferred into the control of the Templars, becoming its seat. The castle became an integral part of the defence system created by the Templars to secure the border of the young Christian Kingdom against the Moors, which at the time occupied the area to approximately the Tagus River. But, following the dissolution of the Templar Order, on 14 March 1319, and following the request of King Denis of Portugal, Pope John XXII instituted the Order of Christ. The seat of the former Knights Templar was converted in 1357 into the seat of this new order.

The famous round church (rotunda) of the castle of Tomar was also built in the second half of the 12th century. The church, like some other templar churches throughout Europe, was modelled after the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which was believed by the crusaders to be a remnant of the Temple of Solomon. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem may also have served as model.

Order of Christ
Following the dissolution of the Templar Order, on 14 March 1319 (following the request of King Denis of Portugal), Pope John XXII instituted the Order of Christ. The Templar order had been suppressed during most of Europe from 1312 to 1314, but in Portugal its members, assets, and partly its membership were transferred to the Order of Christ. The seat of the former Knights Templar was converted in 1357 into the seat of this new order. As a result, at about the first half of the 15th century, work was completed to adapt the Templar oratory, introducing an open choir to the western niche, about half-way up the wall. What remains of this adaptation was the colonnade frame with interior arch. At the same time the main palace was constructed.

During the internship of Prince Henry the Navigator as its leader (1417–1450), the Order of Christ initiated the construction of two cloisters under the direction of master Fernão Gonçalves: the Claustro do Cemitério (Cemetery Cloister) and Claustro das Lavagens (Washing Cloister). Prior to these large works, Henry began work on constructing the Chapel of São Jorge sometime in 1426 and was responsible for urban improvements in the town of Tomar.

In 1484, King D. Manuel (who became Master of the Order in 1484 and King of Portugal in 1495) ordered the construction of a sacristy (today the Hall of Passage), that connected the choir to the Chapel of São Jorge, linking the choir with the wall of the stronghouse. By the end of the century, the convent's General Chapter, decided to expand the convent (sometime around 1492), with 3,500 reis being spent on the public works in 1499: the chapterhouse, main altar, ironworks for the niche/archway, paintings and sculptures (for the same) and the choir were all expanded or remodelled.

A new meeting of the Chapter to reform the Order, ordered by the King 1503, expropriated the old Vila de Dentro, within the walls and closed the Sun Gate and Almedina Gate. By 1506, D. Manuel decided to order the construction of the church's nave.

The successor of Manuel I, King John III, demilitarised the order, turning it into a more religious order with a rule based on that of Bernard of Clairvaux. He also ordered the construction of a new cloister in 1557, which is one of the best examples of Renaissance architecture in Portugal.

In 1581, after a succession crisis, the Portuguese Nobility gathered in the Convent of Christ in Tomar and officially recognised Philip II of Spain (Philip I of Portugal) as King. This is the beginning of the Iberian Union (1581–1640), during which the Crowns of Portugal and Spain were united in a dynastic union. The aqueduct of the Convent was built during this period (aqueduct completed in 1614).

Architecture
The castle and Convent of Christ have examples of Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline and Renaissance architectural styles.


Castle
The castle of Tomar was built around 1160 on a strategic location, over a hill and near river Nabão. It has an outer defensive wall and a citadel (alcáçova) with a keep inside. The Keep, a central tower of residential and defensive functions, was introduced in Portugal by the Templars, and the one in Tomar is one of the oldest in the country. Another novelty introduced in Portugal by the Templars (learned from decades of experience in Normandy and Brittany and elsewhere) are the round towers in the outer walls, which are more resistant to attacks than square towers. When the town was founded, most of its residents lived in dwellings located inside the protective outer walls of the castle.

Church
The Romanesque round church is a Catholic Church from the castle (charola, rotunda) was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Knights Templar. From the outside, the church is a 16-side polygonal structure, with strong buttresses, round windows and a bell-tower. Inside, the round church has a central, octagonal structure, connected by arches to a surrounding gallery (ambulatory). The general shape of the church is modelled after similar round structures in Jerusalem: the Mosque of Omar and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The capitals of the columns are still Romanesque (end of the 12th century) and depict vegetal and animal motifs, as well as a Daniel in the Lions' Den scene. The style of the capitals shows the influence of artists working on the Cathedral of Coimbra, which was being built at the same time as the round church.

The interior of the round church is magnificently decorated with late gothic/manueline sculpture and paintings, added during a renovation sponsored by King Manuel I starting in 1499. The pillars of the central octagon and the walls of the ambulatory have polychrome statues of saints and angels under exuberant Gothic canopies, while the walls and ceilings of the ambulatory are painted with Gothic patterns and panels depicting the life of Christ. The paintings are attributed to the workshop of the court painter of Manuel I, the Portuguese Jorge Afonso, while the sculptured decoration is attributed to Flemish sculptor Olivier de Gand and the Spaniard Hernán Muñoz. A magnificent panel depicting the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, by Portuguese painter Gregório Lopes, was painted for the Round Church and now hangs in the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon.

Manueline nave
During the administration of Prince Henry the Navigator (first half of the 15th century), a gothic nave was added to the round church of the Convent, thus turning the round church into a church apse. From 1510 onwards, King Manuel I ordered the rebuilding of the nave in the style of the time, a mix of late gothic and renaissance that would be called Manueline style by art historians. The architects involved were the Portuguese Diogo de Arruda and the Spaniard Juan de Castillo (João de Castilho).

From the outside, the rectangular nave is covered by abundant Manueline motifs, including gargoyles, gothic pinnacles, statues and "ropes" that remind the ones used in the ships during the Age of Discovery, as well as the Cross of the Order of Christ and the emblem of King Manuel I, the armillary sphere. The so-called Window of the Chapter House (Janela do Capítulo), a huge window visible from the Saint Barbara Cloister in the Western façade of the nave, carries most of the typical Manueline motifs: the symbols of the Order of Christ and of Manuel I, and fantastic and unprecedented elaborations of ropes, corals and vegetal motifs. A human figure in the bottom of the window probably represents the designer, Diogo de Arruda. This window of the Convent constitutes one of the masterworks of Manueline decoration. Above is a smaller circular window and a balustrade. The façade is divided by two string courses of knotted ropes. The round angle buttresses are decorated with gigantic garters (alluding to investiture of Manuel I by the Order of the Garter by the English king Henry VII).

The entrance of the church is done through a magnificent lateral portal, also decorated with abundant Manueline motifs and statues of the Virgin with the Child as well as the Prophets of the Old Testament. This portal was designed by João de Castilho around 1530.

In the interior, the Manueline nave is connected to the Romanesque round church by a large arch. The nave is covered by beautiful ribbed vaulting and has a high choir that used to have Manueline choir stalls, unfortunately destroyed by invading Napoleonic troops in the early 19th century. Under the high choir there is a room that used to be the sacristy of the church. Its window is the famous Chapter House Window already mentioned.

Cloisters
The Convent of Christ has a total of eight cloisters, built in the 15th and 16th centuries. Some examples:

Claustro da Lavagem (Washing Cloister): Two-storey gothic cloister built around 1433 under Henry the Navigator. The garments of the monks used to be washed in this cloister, hence the name.
Claustro do Cemitério (Cloister of the Cemetery): Also built under Henry the Navigator, this gothic cloister was the burial site for the knights and monks of the Order. The elegant twin columns of the arches have beautiful capitals with vegetal motifs, and the walls of the ambulatory are decorated with 16th-century tiles. In a manueline tomb (circa 1523) rests Diogo da Gama, brother of navigator Vasco da Gama.
Claustro de Santa Bárbara (Saint Barbara's Cloister): Built in the 16th century. The Chapter House Window and the West façade of the manueline nave of the church are visible from this cloister.
Claustro de D. João III (Cloister of John III): Started under King John III of Portugal, was finished during the reign of Philip I of Portugal. The first architect was Diogo de Torralva, who began the work in 1557, to be finished in 1591 by Philip I's architect, the Italian Filippo Terzi. This magnificent, two-storey cloister connects the dormitory of the monks to the church, and is considered one of the most important examples of Mannerist architecture in Portugal. The storeys are connected to each other by four elegant helicoidal stairways, located at each corner of the cloisters.




  






http://www.conventocristo.gov.pt/en/

CONVENT OF CHRIST SEEN FROM TOMAR
HOW TO GET THERE:

By Motorway: from Lisbon - A1, to km 93, exit at A23 for Torres Novas, then on IC9 to exit sign for Tomar on N 110. (shorter route - south access).
By National Highway: from Leiria - N 113 / IC9; From Coimbra - EN 110.

Train: Several daily trains between Lisbon and Tomar, via Entroncamento. About 2 hours away.

In the city: At the roundabout of Praceta Alves Redol, take the west direction, by Av. Dr. Cândido Madureira and, in the end, turn right, going up Av. Dr. Vieira Guimarães which ends in the front parking lot near the Castle of the Templars.

On foot, in the city: Access Praça da República and, behind the Town Hall Building, climb the Calçada de S. Tiago to the parking lot.

Access the Convent by the Castle of the Templars.

































































































































































































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