The national classification procedure has been initiated for the Church of Santa Isabel, including its courtyard, adjoining dependencies, and integrated movable heritage.
Under the order of the President of the Cultural Heritage, João Soalheiro, the relevant elements of the process (justification, order, and plan with the boundaries of the properties to be classified and the respective general protection zone) are available on the websites of the Lisbon City Council, the Cultural Heritage authority, and the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR LVT).
On the Campo de Ourique Parish Council’s website, it is noted that the Church of Santa Isabel was built in the 18th century to accommodate the increasing population in that area of the city.
“The parish headquarters was the Hermitage of Saint Ambrose which, despite the 1755 earthquake, suffered little damage. However, due to population growth, it had become too small to accommodate all the faithful,” leading to its demolition and the start of construction of the Church of Santa Isabel.
“The exact completion date of the church is uncertain, but it is known that 16 years after the laying of the first stone, only the outer walls were completed. The delay in the construction of the Church of Santa Isabel is mainly attributed to competition with other major projects for which there was insufficient funding and, subsequently, to the reconstruction efforts in Lisbon following the 1755 earthquake,” reads the note dedicated to the church.
According to the Government’s website on Monuments, it is described as a “parochial, Rococo, Pombaline, Neoclassical church,” featuring a “longitudinal plan, single nave and vaulted chancel with side and upper walls defined by two registers – ground floor pierced by perfect round arches enclosing gilded altarpieces which incorporate canvas paintings, and upper level marked by lighting windows.”
It also houses a main altar in gilded wood carving with fluted shaft columns, hollowed out in the center to host a throne.
It is a “large church considering the date of its construction, which, despite having similarities with other more or less contemporary parochial churches (such as those of the Pombaline reconstruction), constitutes an exceptional object precisely due to its dimensions.”
Today, a diploma regarding the classification as a public interest monument (MIP) of the building at Avenida da República 71-73, in the Avenidas Novas parish, Lisbon municipality and district, was also published.
The building, featuring Art Deco style “with a careful decorative program distributed among numerous ornamental details on the windows, balconies, and around the main door,” according to the ‘Lisboa de Antigamente’ blog, was designed by architect Norte Júnior in 1933, awarded several Valmor prizes.
The project is now open for public consultation for 30 business days, and interested parties should submit their observations to the Culture Unit of CCDR LVT, IP, which will respond within 15 business days.
