Portugal Guide
Azulejos

Why not be buddies with a bear? An azulejo fable displayed in Sao Vicente de Fora monastery.

One of the places to go if you are interested in azulejos is Lisbon's Sao Vicente de Fora monastery (more pictures) next to the church of the same name, which has fine wall-to-wall azulejos of its own, but also offers a long term display of many fables illustrated in full size azulejos.

This one concerns a man who befriends a bear. They get on exceedingly well and will do anything for each other. One day when the man is sleeping the bear sees a fly buzzing around the man's head. The bear knows this irritates the man so he wacks the fly with a large rock, unfortunately he inadvertently crushes the man's head too.

And the moral of this story would be....hands up anyone?

Other excellent azulejos in Portugal are visible at Lisbon's Museu Nacional do Azulejo, Sintra's Palacio Nacional, Porto's Sao Bento station and Ingreja do Carmo, and Evora's Igreja de Sao Joao Evangelista, among others.

 

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