Description of the attraction
The Church of Nossa Senhora da Encarnacio (Our Lady of the Incarnation) is located in the Largo do Chiado square, opposite the Loreto church, in the Chiado district of Lisbon. It is worth mentioning that these two Baroque churches were part of the old city walls, built in the 14th century by order of King Fernand.
The construction of the church began at the beginning of the 17th century. And the construction took a long time. In 1755, the Great Earthquake struck, which actually destroyed not only the church, but the entire city. Its restoration began in 1784 and by order of the Marquis of Pombal, who was then Prime Minister of Portugal, the restoration work was headed by the architect Manuel de Sousa. In 1802, a fire broke out in the church. After restoration work, the church was opened in 1806. The complete construction of the church, including the internal work, was completed only in 1873. The church was closed again for restoration, in 2000.
The building of the church combines several architectural styles that were typical of Portuguese architecture at the end of the 18th century: Pombalino, Late Baroque and Rococo. The magnificent façade of the church is adorned with two niches with statues of Our Lady of the Incarnation and Our Lady of Loreto, which still stood at the medieval walls of the city. Inside the church is one-nave, the main altar of the temple is decorated with a majestic sculpture of Nossa Senhora da Encarnaccio (Our Lady of the Incarnation), made by Machado de Castro, a Portuguese architect of the Baroque era. The church has an organ and two chapels; the walls are decorated with tiled panels on biblical themes.
