Exploring the Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Lisbon

I spotted the ruins of what appeared to be an old church from the Castle of Saint George which overlooks Lisbon. I decided that I needed to visit it. The ruins turned out to be the Ruins of the Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Convento da Ordem do Carmo. It seems that it used to be the largest church in Lisbon until it was reduced to ruins by a powerful earthquake in 1755. Apparently, not the entire structure collapsed in fact much of the skeleton of the church is still intact. Visitors can see the remains of the arches which still span the old church. However, the roof of the church is long gone.

You can probably tell that the arches of the church seem to be one of the strongest parts of the buildings since the walls didn’t seem to hold up that much. Unfortunately, there was little to tell what was inside the church at that time. While there are parts of the church which have survived, it was difficult to tell what else was there. The grounds of the old church now serve as a museum of archeology. There are artifacts on display here which may or may not have been part of the old church. Perhaps most prominently displayed is a massive plastic ball. This is obviously a piece of modern art. The ball is very reflective and it is probably best for selfies. I didn’t like the presence of that silver ball but it seems to be quite popular with visitors.

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