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Indian
States Guide
>>Monuments
in India
>> Goa Travel Guide >>
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GOA MONUMENTS
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Ruins
Of St. Augustine's Tower, Old Goa
Location:
Holy Hill, Old Goa, Panjim, Goa
Built In: 1602
Built By: Augustinian Friars
Built in 1602, the
only ruin of the Church of St. Augustine on the Holy Hill at Old
Goa near the Nunnery, is a lofty 46-metre high tower defying the
torrential rains. The tower is one of the four of St. Augustine
Church that once stood there. There were eight richly adorned
chapels and four altars, and a convent with numerous cells and
artistic columns attached to the church.
The Church when intact was perhaps the biggest in Goa. With the
religious suppression in 1835, the Augustinians deserted the
church and the convent. The latter was used for some time by the
charitable institution of the Misericordia. The buildings fell
into neglect resulting in the collapse of the vault on 8 September
1842. The Government appropriated the property selling the
materials the following year. The façade and half of the tower
fell in 1931 and some more parts of it collapsed in 1938. |
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The
Chapel Of St. Catherine, Old Goa
Location: Old Goa, Panjim, Goa
Built In: 1510
Built By: Afonso De Albuquerque
Rebuilt By:1552
Further to the west
of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi is the chapel of St.
Catherine. Built of laterite blocks it has a tower on either side
of the façade. The chapel in the interior, having only one altar
is plain.
Construction of The Chapel
The chapel was rebuilt in 1552 on the remains of an earlier
structure, built in 1510 by Afonso de Albuquerque to commemorate
his entry into the city on St. Catherine's Day. The earlier chapel
was enlarged in 1550 by the Governor George Cabral, who put up an
inscribed slab, which when translated, reads as follows:
"Here in this place was the doorway through which Governor
Afonso de Albuquerque entered and took this city from the
Mohammadans on the day of St. Catherine in the year 1510 at the
expenses of his Highness." Thus the chapel was built on the
spot where stood the gates of this city under the Muslim rule.
This chapel was raised to the state of the cathedral by Pope Paul
III by a Bull issued in 1534 and it remained so till the new
Cathedral was constructed. |
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| The
Church Of St. Francis Of Assisi, Old Goa
Location:
Old Goa, Panjim, Goa
Present Church Was Built In : 1661
Architectural
Style: Baroque & Manuline StyleTo the west of the Se Cathedral
is the former palace of the Archbishop that connects the Se
Cathedral to the Convent and Church of St. Francis of Assisi. The
structure is built of laterite blocks and is lime-plastered. The
church faces west and has a nave with three chapels on either
side, a choir, two altars in the transept and a main altar. To the
north of the main altar is a belfry and a sacristy. The convent,
which forms an annexure to the church, now houses the
Archaeological Museum.
The
Architectural Grandeur
The exterior of the
Church is of the Tuscan Order while the main entrance is in
Manuline style. The main altar is Baroque with Corinthian
features. There are no aisles but only a nave, which is
rib-vaulted. The internal buttress walls, separating the chapels
and supporting the gallery on top, have frescoes showing intricate
floral designs.
In a niche on the
façade, stands a statue of our lady of miracles brought from
Jaffna in Sri Lanka. A wooden statue of St. Francis of Assisi
adorns a pedestal bearing the insignia of the Franciscans. A
wooden pulpit, richly carved with floral designs is to the left as
one enters. Beneath a ribbed vault with frescoes showing floral
decorations, is the main altar, which is gilded and has a richly
carved niche with a tabernacle supported by the four evangelists. |
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| The
Professed House & The Basilica Of Bom Jesus, Old Goa
Location:
Old Goa, Panjim, Goa
Completion Of Professed House: 1585
Rebuilt In: 1783
Architectural Style Of The Church:
Renaissance & Baroque Style
The
Professed House
Immediately to the south of the main road is the Professed House,
a two-storeyed laterite building covered with lime plaster.
Despite the opposition, which the Jesuits faced, the building was
completed in 1585. A part of the building was accidentally burnt
down in 1663 and was rebuilt in 1783.
The Church Of Bom Jesus
The Church of Bom Jesus is also of laterite; its exterior,
excepting the façade, was lime plastered, which was subsequently
removed. The roof was originally tiled. The church is cruciform on
plan. The flying buttresses on the northern side of the church are
recent additions. A single-storeyed structure adjoining the church
on its southern wing connects it with the professed house.
The three-storeyed façade facing
west, shows Ionic, Doric and Corinthian Orders, and a main
entrance flanked by two smaller ones, each having Corinthian
columns supporting a pediment. Within the church are two chapels,
a main altar and a sacristy besides a choir at the entrance. A
belfry is at the back.
A Blend OF Renaissance & Baroque
Styles
A projecting gallery, which was intended for the use of
dignitaries on solemn occasions, runs along the two longer sides.
Excepting the richly gilded altars, the interior of the church is
remarkable for its simplicity. While the façade has the classical
orders of the Renaissance, the altars are in Baroque style.
The church is called "Bom Jesus" meaning 'good Jesus' or
'infant Jesus' to whom it is dedicated. The façade has on it, at
the top, the letters, "HIS" which are the first three
letters of Jesus in Greek. The two columns supporting the choir
bear slabs inscribed in Portuguese and Latin recording that the
construction of this Church of Jesus was commenced on 24 November
1594 and Fr. Alexia de Menezes, the Archbishop of Goa and Primate
of India consecrated it on 15 May 1605, when it was completed. |
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