Rome: Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi

The richly decorated church of Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi is dedicated to Saint Antonius of Padova (1195-1231). As I have written previously, the saint’s real name was not Antonius and he was not from Padova either. He had in fact been born as Fernando Martins in the Portuguese city of Lisbon.…

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Rome: Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi

De rijkversierde kerk van Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi is gewijd aan Sint Antonius van Padova (1195-1231). Zoals ik al eerder heb geschreven, heette Sint Antonius geen Antonius en kwam hij ook niet uit Padova. Zijn echte naam was Fernando Martins en hij werd geboren in de Portugese stad Lissabon. Nadat hij…

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Portugal: Santarém

Santarém is de hoofdstad van het gelijknamige district in de provincie Ribatejo in centraal Portugal. Een grote stad is het niet: er wonen ongeveer 30.000 mensen. Niettemin heeft Santarém veel interessante monumenten en is de stad daarom beslist een bezoek waard. U moet er alleen niet op maandagen of dinsdagen…

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Portugal: Sintra

We have twice been to Sintra, a city west of Lisbon on the edge of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. The first time was in May 2011, when we took a train from Lisbon’s Rossio Station, a trip of some 45 minutes. The second time was in August 2015. This time,…

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Portugal: Santarém

Santarém is the capital of the Santarém District in the Ribatejo region in central Portugal. It is by no means a large city, with a population of about 30.000. Yet it has many interesting monuments and is definitely worth a visit. Just do not go there on a Monday or…

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Portugal: Alcobaça

It was a pleasant drive to Alcobaça, a small town with a population of about 16.000. Alcobaça is home to Portugal’s largest church and the church was the main reason we came here. Just to the east of the church and monastery is a large car park with ample space…

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Portugal: Óbidos

From our apartment in Vila Nova, near Cadaval, it was about 30 minutes to Óbidos by car. The weather was lovely and so was the scenery. This part of Portugal is known for its vineyards and pear orchards. People have lived in and around Óbidos for centuries. The area was…

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