Lisbon's Bairro Alto and Carmo Archeological Museum
The old center of Lisbon is divided into three sections. There is Baixa, which occupies a valley between two hills. To the east is a hill which is covered by the Alfama neighborhood. To the west are the Chiado and Bairro Alto neighborhoods, and that is where my travels have taken me this week. My morning began at the Carmo Archeological Museum . In 1423, the Carmelite Sisters opened a monastery on the hillside of Chiado, overlooking Baixa. In 1755 Lisbon was struck by a major earthquake (7.7 or greater), which destroyed most of the buildings in Lisbon, including the chapel of the Carmo Monastery. By the early part of the 19th century, the monastery had been taken over by the Portuguese National Military Police. In 1864 the chapel was gifted to the Association of Portuguese Archeologists, who turned it into a museum. They took on the task of rebuilding and restoring the facade and walls of the chapel. They made to decision to not repair the roof of the chapel, which had completely...
