National Pantheon
Type
Monument & Historical Site
Opening Hours
Monday: Closed
Tuesday – Sunday: 10AM – 05PM
Distance to the Port
10 Min – Drive
The National Pantheon, or church of Santa Engrácia, is a grand Baroque building housing the tombs of the country's most distinguished figures.
Come and discover the final resting place of Portugal's most illustrious figures. Built in the 16th century as the church of Santa Engrácia by Princess Dona Maria, daughter of King Manuel I, the church never fulfilled its purpose.
It is thanks to her that the saying "like the construction of Santa Engrácia" came into being to denote something which is never completed. In fact, it was finished in the mid-20th century, 350 years later.
You'll thus discover the legend of the secret love of Simão Pires and Violante, a novice from the neighbouring convent of Santa Clara.
It was the curse uttered by Simão that gave rise to the expression when unjustly burned alive for suspicion of stealing some relics when in fact he was just going to meet his lover.
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