Have you visited this gold church in Portugal?

They say ‘All that glitters is not gold,’ but step into the St Francis Church in Porto, Portugal and you’ll find that it is. The unassuming gothic exterior does not offer any hint of what lies inside—a gilted vision in baroque style.
Reconstruction of the original monastery building began in 1383 and was completed in 1410. But the monastery went through another reconstruction, which concluded in 1425. It is believed that it took 165 years to finish the carved interiors, which were done in walnut, chestnut and oak wood, all coated in gold leaf.

So how did a Franciscan monastery, which ought to be associated with poverty, come to have such grandeur? Around the 17th century, a few wealthy merchants and noble families of the city, including the Sá, Brandão and Carneiro families, chose this church as their pantheon. “As they couldn’t be buried in a ‘poor’ church, they bought all the gold they could from Brasil to adorn the church,” says Joanna, our guide.

It is believed that the gold-leaf work started off with 800 kg of gold; while the finished work, according to Joanna, added up to 370 kg of gold; this includes the main and smaller altars, the columns and the ceiling . The church is a perfect example of rococo or late baroque architecture with its ornate pillars and columns , featuring cherubs, rose garlands, fruits and animals, all done in gold.

Another work of art is the Tree of Jesse, the family tree of Christ carved into the single block of wood that forms the altar. Jesse, the father of King David, can be seen at the roots of the tree. On the right is King David playing the harp and his descendants all the way up to St Joseph, the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus. On the left and right of the Holy Family is St Anne and St Joachim, Mary’s parents. 

The church is no longer used for daily mass, but for a considerable sum, you could hire it for a wedding or for a classical music concert, thanks to its good acoustics.