Claustro da Lavagem

While the Convento de Cristo seemed to be an imposing structure, it was easy to forget that this was a convent initially. As such it has the features a monastery would normally have. One of the features I have seen so far is the cloister. This seems to be a common structure in monasteries. I think of cloisters as the parks for the residents of the convent. Sometimes though, I can’t help but think of them as open space for jails since these structures are pretty much isolated from the rest of the world. The Convento de Cristo also has a cloister, in fact, it has eight of them.

The Claustro da Lavagem is the first cloister which I encountered. This is notable because it is two stories high and it is gothic in its design and can be seen in the arches. The name of the cloister means Washing Cloister because this is where the monks would wash their clothes. I can’t see why this was the washing area of all places. As for its use as a park, there was only a little greenery here, it probably doens’t make an enjoyable walk here with such little greenery. If one pays attention to the walls, they are adorned with blue tiles which were popular at that time. This would a recurring design item in my visit around Portugal.

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