I won't lie. Two monasteries in a single afternoon is one too many.
Batalha was built about a century after Alcobaca, in the Flamboyant Gothic style. No, I didn't make that up. The Prague Cathedral flaunts it, too.
Many members of the House of Aziz, the family that ruled during Portugal's the Age of Discovery, are interred here. Lions with Linda Blair head-spinning capabilities support their tombs.
Here lies Prince Henry the Navigator, perhaps the most famous member of the Aziz bloodline. Remember him from Belem?
Chris loved the simplicity of the cathedral. It topped his list of favorite sights in Portugal this trip.
Repetetive arches characterize the Flamboyant style.
As does repetitive, intricately patterned stone work.
Had we arrived a week or two earlier, more roses in the cloister would have been blooming.
A later generation of royals added an octagonal structure to the church in the Manueline style which houses unfinished chapels, open to the sky. The architecture still looks pretty flamboyant to me.
The size of this tomb would indicate it's an infant or juvenile royal.
Little faces like these were carved at the bottom of every column.
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