Wednesday crept up on us yesterday. Suddenly the week is half over. As the chess-players didn’t have a game until 5.30, we arranged to go out for lunch with a friend. We went back to Tasca do Béné, where we have had several excellent meals since we arrived here last Thursday. Phil and our friend both hag pork dishes which they declared to be very tasty. My choice of fish stew was less good: too many potatoes, not enough fish and what fish there was (skate) was very bony. Far too fiddly to eat easily but the vegetables and the broth were still good.
I thought I might go for a walk after lunch but in fact I had a snooze. This is probably because Phil’s Tuesday evening game finished well after midnight and I had to wait for him to come home so that I could open the door for him. Not enough sleep!
When he went off to play chess I set out for a belated walk up the hill, turning left beyond the cathedral into a maze of back streets - old Silves with narrow streets and single-story houses.
I discovered the Church of Mercy, a Igreja da Misericordia, a tiny church just round the corner from the cathedral.
Here is an artist’s impression.
I would love to claim responsibility for the sketch but that is not the case.
Inside it is all whitewashed apart from the main altar piece.
Quite an impressive piece of work.
Here comes some wiki-info:
“The church dates from the second half of the 16th century and boasts an intact, highly-decorative Manueline doorway, which is one of the most important pieces of Manueline architecture preserved in the western Algarve. Manueline architecture is named after King Manuel I of Portugal whose reign (1495–1521) coincided with the development of the style.
The church was built to serve the Santa Casa da Misericórdia religious order founded in 1498 by Queen Leonor of Portugal. The order could be described as "the oldest NGO in the world." The Museu da Misericordia do Porto is a modern museum with much information on this charitable organization for those interested in its good works.”
To one side of the altar piece were raised seats. A choir stall of sorts? Maybe. But I was reminded of the church featured in the Italian film Il Gattopardo where the wealthy family had a similar set of raised seats reserved for them. Perhaps this was the same sort of idea.
Certainly the main body of the little church just had firm wooden benches for ordinary folk.
Making my way back down the hill I stuck my head into an atelier where two people were painting beautiful Portuguese tiles. They also painted sea shells, a plain colour on the outside, a gold or silver edging and patterns of flowers or birds or fish on the inside.
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I now have a project to suggest to the two smallest grandchildren next time they visit me for a “crafternoon”.
Our chess-playing friend yesterday arrived in shorts and t-shirt. He’s staying at a place on the coast which is warmer than Silves, up in the hills a little. It was warm and sunny when he set out, cold and dull when he arrived here. He bought a sweater in order to keep warm.
This morning, after the mist cleared, the sun is shining and the sky is blue. I noticed a man in swimming trunks on a sun lounger by the pool in the hotel grounds. It’s fine day but surely not warm enough for that at 10.00 in the morning! It takes all sorts!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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