Voz Operário: National Pantheon/Church of Saint Engratia

It was the Church of Saint Engratia when it was built in 1682, but became the National Pantheon in 1916. Its large dome was only completed in 1966, making it the monument that took the longest time to be completed in Portugal. There’s even an expression in the country for something that takes forever -- “a job like Santa Engratia.”

It’s said that its construction took forever because it stands on the site of a previous church that was desecrated by a robbery in 1630. A Jew was blamed and executed, only to be exonerated later. Before dying, he said that a new church would never be completed, due to the conviction of an innocent man. He seemed to have prophesied, when the new church collapsed during the first months of construction in 1681. The reason was the effect of a storm on a poorly-built foundation. 

It’s considered Portugal’s first baroque monument, but it lacks all the golden ornamentation and blue-and-white tile panels, which is so typical of Portuguese baroque.

Instead, its interior is inspired by Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and made up of colored marble.

Built on an octagonal floor plan centered on a Greek cross, it holds the tombs and cenotaphs of the country’s most important or famous cultural figures, like explorers, presidents, poets, and even Fado diva Amália Rodrigues.