3 - Coimbra

Coimbra
 
Coimbra was the city of Pedro’s birth, where his grandmother founded a convent, and the place he brought Inês to live in the household of his mother. In the tale of Pedro and Inês two cities are central actors in the drama: Coimbra and Santarém. 

We do not know exactly where Inês died nor where she shared a hearth and bed with Pedro. We can walk the grounds of the convent of Santa Clara where they dwelt in a manor home with Queen Beatriz. For safety, the family would have lived adjacent or inside the convent’s walls in the lay community. The original convent was founded by Pedro’s grandmother, Queen Isabella (later Saint Elizabeth), in low lying land bordering the Mondego river which regularly flooded. Below is a model of the medieval Monastery Santa Clara-a-Velha (convents were referred to as monasteries).

Today the restoration of the original church and grounds continues.  There is a delightful museum as you enter the grounds.


Nearby one can stay at the Quintas das Lágrimas with the Fontes dos Amores (Fountain of Love) retelling a version of the Pedro and Inês story. We spent several days at Quintas and one evening enjoyed a chamber concert on the lawn.


Coimbra traces its origins back to a Roman town set on a hilltop. Pedro’s ancestor, Afonso I, made this city Portugal’s first capital in 1139 after defeating the Moors. The Mondego river splits the town with the novel’s setting found on the south banks of the river. You can easily walk across the bridge to the town that rises on a steep hill. Be sure to stop in a bake shop for an arrufada, a sweet bun created here.  There is much to tour and you can imagine the city in times past. The University of Coimbra dates to 1290, the ninth oldest university in Europe. Nearby visit the Castro Museum. We loved this stone carved knight from the 14th century attributed to Master Pero. 

Limestone statue of a knight from the 14th century likely carved by the famed Pero. It is in the Coimbra Museum.

















The museum also has gold coins, religious items, chests, and one object that captured my imagination. This lovely necklace, which I can imagine Inês wearing, was found on the grounds of the Santa Clara convent where she lived.

Gold necklace with multi-colored semi-precious stones in the Coimbra miseum.

Head west about 35 km/22 miles from the Santa Clara Convent to reach the Castelo Montemor-o-Velho. King Afonso rode from here to Coimbra. Inside these tall walls are lovely grounds with a chapel and parts of the original structure still in place. The stretches of green grass make an excellent place for a picnic. From the walls there is a commanding view over rice fields and countryside. On a July afternoon the air was scented with flowering trees of peaches and figs. 

This is a 14th century bronze sword (Militar Museu, Lisboa).  Perhaps the type a noble might use?

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