Cloister at the Monastery of Alcobaça
The monastery of Alcobaça seems to be a very good introduction to Portuguese architecture. The large monastery complex is a veritable showcase of this type of architecture. It is still my first destination in Portugal so I don’t know if there would be anything better, but being the most important monastery in Europe during the monastic age, you can probably be sure that it ranks up there when it comes to design. In my visits of old churches in Europe, it is common that these place would come with open spaces within the complex. I would like to think of them as parks within the complex without needing to go outside.
Open Area in the Monastery of Alcobaça Complex
The monastery of Alcobaça has a large cloister which certainly looks much like a park. There is the typical covered walk way which surrounded the open area. I can imagine monks walking rounds here for contemplation. If the monastery is that large then space might have been an issue if there are a lot of people here doing their contemplation. I certainly won’t be able to do that if I keep running into someone. Rather than just a covered walkway, there seem to be levels in the walkway. A second floor, this is obviously to accommodate the large number of people staying here. It would be nice to have a time machine and see this place in action.
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