> >>Rare Pictures of GOA >>Peninsular India : Old Goa >>If the Pacific Ocean was once a Spanish Lake, Then the Indian Ocean during >>the 16th Century belonged to the Portuguese. The administrative center of >>this Portuguese Lake was Goa . What did it look like? Most of the city of >>that time has been obliterated, partly by time but largely by The Portuguese >>themselves using it as a stone quarry. Words come to the partial >>rescue, Here in a snippet of the account left by Francois Pyrard, writing >>shortly after 1600. >>"It is about a hundred and ten years since the Portuguese made themselves >>Masters of this island of Goa, and I have often wondered at the rapidity with >> Which the Portuguese have been able to rear stately edifices, so many >>churches, Convents, palaces, fortesses, and other buildings.... >>This city is the metropolis of the whole of the Portuguese dominions in India >>.... Every year more than a thousand ships touch there laden with cargo." >>Don't be misled by his use of the word "island." It's not; by a stretch the >>city stood on a peninsula. >>(Quoted in Jos Nicola DA Fonseca, Sketch of the City of Goa, 1878, p. 156) >> >>Well, here we are, a busy street 400 years ago. Jan van Linschoten, Assistant >>to the archbishop and in modern language also an industrial spy, wrote that >>one street was crowded with cotton and silk dresses, China porcelain, and >>velvet from Portugal . Another was for woodworking-Beds, chairs, joinery. >>Linschoten did more than describe the commercial geography of Old Goa: He >>copied the maps long held secret by the Portuguese, and when he brought them >>back to his Dutch countrymen, they began sailing the Portuguese Lake , with >>ruinous effect for the Portuguese. >>By 1774, Portugal 's eminent Marquis of Pombal sent out a new governor with >>instructions To restore the city's glory. It was not to be, but Pombal's >>instructions to Jos Pedro DA Camara Describe Goa by then as "overtaken by >>such calamities that she is reduced to a heap of ruins; So that she is now a >>mere wreck of what she was in happier times."(Fonseca, p. 183) >> A coconut grove on the site of former buildings. The heap of stones was made >>recently, when the landowner cleared the site before planting it. If you like >>lamentations, you'll love Tomas Ribeiro (1831-1901), who wrote of Goa: "I >>have come to witness the collapse of glory, to have to show to foreign >>peoples only ruins, Deserts and skulls, as all the trophies of our history." >>(Quoted in Churches of Goa by Jose Pereira, 2002, p. 90) >> It almost takes an archaeologist to sort it out: the relics of ancient >>Goa Are not the stone blocks in the upper half of this picture They're the >>thin fragments of roof tile in the lower half >> Visitors today arrive by road, but in the old days they came up the Mandovi >>River , Here at low tide five miles from the sea. There's a lot of >>bulk-carrier traffic, As well as ferries on the river, but no oceanic >>passenger shipsThe 16th Century city was walled with a gate that was >>decorated for the arrival of new governors. >>Then in 1599, when the governor was Dom Francisco DA Gama, the great-grandson >>of Vasco DA Gama, this arch was built at the river's edge "by order of the >>Senate of the city of Goa." With the twofold object of saving the expense of >>decoration and of perpetuating the name of the famous discoverer of the sea >>route to India ." (Fonseca, p. 193) Sorry to disappoint, but the arch >>collapsed in 1948 and was entirely rebuilt in 1954. Old engravings show a >>slightly more elaborate structure, with an upper image containing a statue of >>St. Catherine. (See, for example, the one in Antonio Lopes Mendes, A India >>Portuguesa, 1886, vol. 1, p. 51.) >>Vasco in his Sunday best. Although Vasco came to India in 1498, Portuguese >>rule over Goa was established instead by Afonso Albuquerque, Who in 1510 >>defeated the forces of the Sultan of Bijapur. It happened on November 25th, >>the feast day of St. Catherine, >>Which is why her image originally appeared above Vasco's >>Rear of arch, with view through to ferry dock Notice the statue at the top of >>the arch? >>It shows a woman, sword in hand, standing over a man in native dress. Symbol >>of Portugal's rule? >>Inside the arch is this tablet. The upper portion reads: "The legitimate and >>true king, Dom Joao IV, restorer of Portuguese liberty. 1656. " The >>reference is to Portugal 's regaining in 1640 its independence from Spain >>Perhaps a hundred yards up the road is this last vestige of the palace of >>Yusuf AdilKhan, the last Muslim ruler in Goa . For a long time his palace >>was used by the Portuguese viceroys, But they eventually moved their capital >>downstream to less cholera-prone Pangim (=Panjim =Panaji). In 1820 Adil >>Khan's palace was demolished and its stone reused in the new city . >>Only this gateway survived. The design is Indian except for the scroll on the >>lintel, which is a Portuguese "improvement." >> >>Next to the relic gateway is the Church of Our Lady of Divine Providence, >>Completed in 1661; to its left is the S. Caetano (= Cajetan) >>Monastery, named for the founder of the Theatine Order. Caetano came from >>Thiene, west of Venice ,and was a contemporary of the better known St. >>Francis Xavier. He arrived in Goa in 1639 and, failing to get permission to >>proselytize within the dominion of the Nizam of Hyderabad, settled here >>after swearing allegiance to the Portuguese king. The Theatines were unusual >>in accepting non-Europeans to their order >> The floor plan of the church is a Greek Cross. The base of the dome bears >>Matthew 6:33, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all >>these things shall be added unto you. " It was no random choice, because the >>order taught reliance on Providence for subsistence. The church was designed >>by two Italians, Ferrarini and Milazzo, Often described as a smaller version >>of St. Peters , the church was modelled more directly on the church of the >>Madonna della Ghiara, which is in Reggio Emilia and which was based on >>Bramante's unexecuted design for St. Peters . The elaborately carved pulpit >>is characteristic of Goan churches. Goan churches are generally made of >>blocks of laterite, which when excavated from the earth hardens to ironstone. >>That rock is durable but cannot be carved, so the Goan churches are typically >>covered with plaster and periodically given a coat of white paint. >> "Here lies Luis de Braga Giro. Died 11 March 1669 [?] and his heirs. " >>Unlike the case of Bassein (q.v.) there is apparently no book that translates >>the inscriptions of Old Goa >>Perhaps a mile away, there's a hill atop which stands the Church of Our Lady >>of the Mount. Like many churches in Goa , it's been inactive for a long, long >>time. Even in 1878 there was only one service here annually, building the >>church >>The church was described in 1992 as "deserted and decaying, " but since then >>it has been restored. See Maurice Hall, Window on Goa , >>1991, p. 95 and, for conservation methods, a paper by Luis Marreiros Of the >>Portuguese Architectural Heritage Institute online at >>http://www.arcchip.cz/w10/w10_marreiros.pdf >>The church is closed, but that term is merely relative. View from choir. The >>roof is a 9-meter wide cylinder or barrel vault and rests on laterite walls >>2.7 meter thick. The view west from the church. The church on the right is >>the one seen earlier; We'll look now at the others, beginning with the dark >>tower just breaking the skyline at the western edge of the cluster of >>buildings >>It's the only surviving bit of the superstructure of the Augustinian church >>of Our Lady of Grace, Which was completed in 1602 and abandoned when the >>Augustinians Were ordered to leave Goa in 1835. The massive roof collapsed a >>few years later, in 1842. Most of the facade fell in 1931. The remaining >>tower has been stabilized. The rubble in the foreground is the remnant of a >>great staircase that once led up a low hill to the church. >> >>Floor of the church. Gravestone paving: Here lies >>Captain Iacome de Moraes. Died 20 July 1624 >> >>Across the street is the huge convent of Santa Monica , once a popular place >>of permanent seclusion but by 1876 down to a single nun. The doorways bear >>elaborate ornamentation, Which is odd since the women inside were not allowed >>to leave, while visitors were far and few between. Still, it appears that >>the phrase Liber Vitae Agni was apt. It presumably comes from Revelations >>21:27, "And there shall in no wise enter Into it any thing that defileth, >>neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are >>written in the Lamb's book of life." >> >>Another entrance is less clear, although certainly the presence of the >>Portuguese in Goa was a story of the sea and its voyagers >>The most important surviving building in Old Goa is the Se or Cathedral, >>completed in 1652, When Portuguese power was already in decline. It's >>formally the Cathedral of St. Catherine, the patron saint of Goa because it >>was on her day that Afonso Albuquerque finally captured the city and ordered >>The slaughter of all Muslim residents--man, woman, child. >>Thousands died, punished it seems because the city's rulers--Muslims-- >>Had earlier welcomed Albuquerque , then turned on him, forcing him to fight >>to regain his hold on their city. Despite this slaughter, Albuquerque >>subsequently pursued a policy of toleration, at least with regard to Hindus. >>Fonseca writes, "This cathedral, which was in course of construction For >>upwards of three-fourths of a century, and which witnessed the rise and fall >>Of the Portuguese power in the East, is a really majestic edifice. " The >>right tower fell in 1776 and was never rebuilt. A century later, Fonseca >>continues, the church remained the "only church [in Goa ] where religious >>services were held every day on a somewhat grand scale." (Fonseca, p . 198ff.) >>The inscription reads, "In the reign of the very catholic King Dom Sabastiao >> this cathedral was ordered to be erected... in the year of our Lord 1562...." >>The cathedral was begun by an unknown architect who modeled his work >>On the cathedral at Leiria. Most of the work, however, was done under the >>direction of Julio Simao, Appointed chief architect of Portuguese Asia by >>Philip II. It's a reminder that the church Was built while Portugal was under >>Spanish rule. Simao finished the nave in 1622 and the crossing in 1628 but >>died before the portal was finished in 1651. He's buried in the church >>The high altar, shown here in genuine low focus, shows events from the life >>of St Catherine of Alexandria . The central image on the lower level shows >>Catherine holding a book and sword while standing on a cloud. The symbolism >>is obscure until you learn that the "cloud" was originally a picture of the >>prostrate Sultan of Bijapur >>Adjoining the cathedral is the Church of the Holy Spirit or popularly, of St. >>Francis. It's late, completed in 1668. The church is a single hall, a nave >>without aisles, and is entered through a wide arch Paintings illustrate >>scenes from the life of St. Francis >>The high altar has a surprisingly informal image of Christ on the cross but >>with one arm On the shoulder of St. Francis, who embraces Christ. Francis >>stands on steps labeled Poverty, Humility, and Obedience >>Not three minutes away is the Basilica of Bom Jesus, built quickly and >>finished in 1605, Before any of the other churches we've seen, except for the >>Augustinian church now in ruins. Once, Bom Jesus was plastered and painted >>The facade is partly of a dark granite from Bassein, north of Bombay . Why? >>Because granite can be carved, unlike the laterite blocks used elsewhere in >>the church The church is attached to what was once a training academy for >>Jesuits. Courtyard of that monastery, now the Pius X Pastoral Institute >>Top of the facade, with the Jesuit seal in granite. The high altar has a >>larger-than-life image of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. >>Francois Pyrard wrote soon after 1600 that he saw a procession Of 1,500 >>natives coming here to be baptized. The crowds today come mostly to see the >>tomb of Francis Xavier which is in the right arm of the crossing Ignatius >>Loyola stands atop a small Christ child >>Most of the church appears to be very simple, almost austere in contrast with >>the altar, but Pyrard wrote that the walls were gilt. The casket of Francis >>Xavier, a Basque Jesuit who was an associate of Ignatius of Loyola. >>The great missionary of the East, his body was brought here from China after >>his death there in 1552. Francis Xavier was canonized in 1622; this >>catafalque, of jasper and marble was sent from Italy by the Grand Duke of >>Tuscany in 1698 The upper tablet reads: >>"This Church of Jesus was begun to be built on the 24th November 1594, And >>the most Reverend and Illustrious Lord Dom Fr. Aleixo de Menezes, Archbishop >>of Goa and Primate of India, consecrated it in the year of our Lord 1605, on >>the 15th May. " The lower stone marks the elevation of the church to a >>Basilica Minor in 1946 >>Off to one side of the complex of major churches we've been looking at >>Is this small Chapel of St. Catherine, Built by Albuquerque in 1510, though >>enlarged in 1550. As Portuguese power waned, Portuguese churches grew larger. >>Rear of the church, showing the characteristic laterite blocksAnother early >>church, Sao Pedro, from 1542 or 1543. Supposedly, there's nothing special >>about it. Except that it has one of those amazing pulpits, prodigies of >>woodcarving >> >> >> >>
