Santa Luzia, Viana do Castelo, Portugal

The Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a catholic Christian shrine located on the top of Santa Luzia hill, in the city of Viana do Castelo, Portugal. Assuming itself as the “ex libris“ “of the city of Viana do Castelo, from its place you can see a unique view of the region, which reconciles the sea, the Lima river with its valley, and the whole surrounding mountain complex. The architectural project (1899) is due to the architect Miguel Ventura Terra. History The sanctuary dedicated to the worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, high on the hill of Santa Luzia, was started in 1904 and completed in 1959, at the initiative of the Brotherhood of Santa Luzia, the entity that oversees the monument. Its institution is due to the Cavalry Captain Luís de Andrade e Sousa who, affected by a serious ophthalmology, resorts to the extinct chapel of Santa Luzia, lawyer of sight, as a way to gratify the grace received. Temple-Monument glorifies the name of Santa Luzia, to whom the Cavalry Captain Luís de Andrade e Sousa resorts, in the extinct chapel of Santa Luzia, suffering from a severe ophthalmia. Already convalesced, establishes the Brotherhood of Santa Luzia, as a way to gratify the grace received. Prior to the temple, there was a small medieval hermitage dedicated to Saint Luzia, patron saint of sight, whose attribute is his eyes arranged in a bowl. In the late nineteenth century, who will become the first president of the Brotherhood of Santa Luzia, the Cavalry Captain Luís de Andrade e Sousa, suffering from an ophthalmological problem, begins to frequent the small chapel, praying and asking for a solution to his. problem. When restored to his vision, he instituted the Brotherhood of Santa Luzia in 1884, taking care of the isolated and abandoned chapel and ordering a road linking the city to the hill. The privileged location called for a building that lived up to it and the panorama that it contemplates, seeking the revaluation of the hill and the ruins of the Citânia de Santa Luzia. The works begin in 1904, with a project by Ventura Terra and directed by António Adelino de Magalhães Moutinho, a municipal architect. The works were interrupted in 1910 with the Implantation of the Republic and the consequent Law of Separation of the State from the Church, to begin again in 1926, under the direction of Miguel Nogueira. In the same year, the small chapel is demolished and, once the chancel is completed, it was sacred and open for worship, even though the remaining temple was still to be built. This phenomenon is common in other churches, starting work on the most important area of ​​construction - the chancel - and from then on. The exterior works extended until 1943 and the interior works until 1959. The Sanctuary of Saint Luzia is considered as inspired by the Sacré Cœur Basilica in Paris. However, this idea has been disputed, since, at the time of Ventura Terra’s project (1899), the Parisian church was still poorly built and without visible configuration. The works of granite stonework are the responsibility of master mason, Emídio Pereira Lima, who directed the work after the blindness of Miguel Nogueira. Since 1923, the sanctuary has been served by the Santa Luzia Lift, also known as the Santa Luzia Funicular, by Bernardo Pinto Abrunhosa, who was also responsible for the refurbishment of the Hotel de Santa Luzia, now part of the Portuguese Pousadas network. Features The temple features a Greek cross-shaped plant with elements in neo-romantic, neo-gothic and byzantine style, in an eclectic and revivalist taste that marked the turn of the century. The model was imported from France, learning place of architect Ventura Terra. In its juniper you can admire a superb 360º view of the region, considered as one of the best in the world. The stained glass windows of the rosettes were made in Lisbon, at Ricardo Leone’s workshop. The rosettes that frame them are the largest in the Iberian Peninsula. The frescoes that represent the Passion and Ascension of Christ at the summit are by Manuel Pereira da Silva. The two cherubs on the high altar are by the sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida, and were executed in Vila Viçosa marble by masters Emídio Lima and Albino Lima. The three altars (the main and the two sides) in magnificently worked granite were carved by Emídio Lima, as well as the two pulpits. On the main façade of the temple stands a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in bronze, by the sculptor Aleixo Queirós Ribeiro, dating from 1898, which is prior to the building itself. The carillon consists of 26 bells.