Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Lisbon

Mosteiro dos Jerónimos is a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome, built as a royal burial place beside Lisbon’s riverfront. Look at the carved entrance and the long stone façades: this is the setting for some of Portugal’s most ambitious Manueline work. Construction began in 1502 and continued for about a century.

Diogo de Boitaca, Nicolau de Chanterene and Diogo de Torralva all shaped the building, bringing together late Gothic and Renaissance ideas. Its lavish programme was financed by a tax on profits from Portugal’s yearly India fleets. The monastery also carries the memory of departure: Vasco da Gama and his companions prayed at the earlier chapel here before sailing towards India in 1497.

Inside the church, da Gama’s remains lie in a carved tomb, alongside those of the poet Luís de Camões; these were installed in 1880, close to the tombs of Kings Manuel I and John III. The monks served here for over four centuries, until religious orders were dissolved in 1833. Since 1983, the monastery and the Tower of Belém have shared UNESCO World Heritage recognition. The carved stone turns royal ambition, ocean travel and remembrance into a single monument.