On 23 November, the Club offered its members a cultural afternoon with a guided visit to the Tile Museum, Madre de Deus Convent and Santos-o-Novo Convent, conducted by Dr. Anísio Franco, whose descriptions and explanations of the convents were excellent.
In the Church of the Convent of Madre de Deus, the carved wood and tiles are one of the best examples of Baroque in Portugal.
Built around 1700 by Dionísio and António Ferreira, it is the oldest Portuguese baroque nativity scene, consisting of 42 unique pieces, and was dismantled and stored for over 200 years, after the extinction of the religious orders in 1834. Only in 2006 was it reassembled and exhibited again, after 3 years of restoration.
The Church of the convent of Santos-o-Novo includes gilded woodcarvings, polychromatic marbles and tile panels, of which the ones covering the walls and narrating steps in the life of the Holy Martyrs stand out.
