Chapel of the Lord of the Afflicted

The Chapel of the Lord of the Afflicted (Senhor dos Aflitos), a small temple of hexagonal plan, is a remarkable seventeenth century architectural piece. It belongs to the Lamarosa Estate (Quinta da Lamarosa) near the river Mondego fields, in the municipal term of Coimbra.

It features Doric corner pilasters that support an entablature, an attic and a hexagonal dome covered with tiles and topped by a stone pinnacle. Arches are inscribed in each of the sides but today only the entrance arch is open, framed by the chapel’s portal.

The interventions at the end of the 18th century included a new altarpiece, interior blue tile (azulejos) panels and the ceiling paintings, representing emblems of the Passion of Christ. The two stone crosses that flank the chapel also date back to this time.

The architect(s) and the patrons of this architectural work are unknown. The chapel can be integrated in a chain of small chapels of this type, from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, which exist in Portugal (chapels of Our Lady of the Incarnation in Vila da Feira, of S. Gonçalo in Aveiro and of Our Lady of the Sands in S. Jacinto) and Brazil (chapels of the House of Garcia de Avila in Bahia and of S. Gonçalo do Engenho Una in Paraíba).

The structure dates, apparently, from the third quarter of the seventeenth century but suffered major changes during the late eighteenth century, before it’s (re?)institution as a chapel in 1800 (an important fact that came out from the students' research). It is therefore plausible that it was originally erected as a baldachin that would shelter a stone cross in its center. In this sense, it is also plausible that all the filled-in arches were originally open — as the visit to the site suggests.

The students tested this hypothesis (hypothesis a) and yet another, in which the remaining statue of the Risen Christ would be over an altar against the back wall of a primitive chapel, with all sides open except one (hypothesis b). They previously carried out a rigorous survey of the chapel in its current state - which did not exist prior to their analysis.

• CORREIA, Vergílio; GONÇALVES, António Nogueira; Inventário Artístico de Portugal – Vol. IV: Distrito de Coimbra, Lisboa, ANBA, 1953.
• MOURA FILHA, Maria Berthilde, “Capelas com planta centralizada no Nordeste do Brasil: entre a tradição portuguesa e a tratadística italiana”, População e Sociedade, Porto, CEPESE, vol.19, 2011, p.71-93.
• SOUSA, Alberto, “Uma igreja brasileira de planta hexagonal: a capela do antigo Engenho Una, na Paraíba”, Arquitextos, São Paulo, ano 07, 2007.
• SIPA

Henrique Pimentel  ·  Luís Antunes  ·  Manuel Pratas  ·  Philippa Remhof

2015/2016