This week I was surprised with a portuguese official card sent by Daniela, someone I know from the postcrossing forum. I'm posting it here with another card of Viseu's cathedral that Beatriz sent me a couple of years ago.
PT-629513, sent by Daniela.
With large towers that give it the look of a fortified church set on a promontory, the magnificence of this cathedral is a focal point of the city, even from a distance. It is also one of its oldest buildings. It was built on the spot where a primitive temple of the Suevo-Visigothic era once stood, whose structure was recently revealed by archaeological excavations. It began to take shape in the 12th century, under the first king of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques, and underwent a profound renovation in the 13th century, during the reign of D. Dinis. Work spanned many years and the whole building comprises elements from different eras.
Forways LDA
The current Mannerist facade was erected in the middle of the 17th century. To replace a Renaissance facade that collapsed in 1635 and destroyed the Manueline portal, meanwhile constructed. An interesting detail is that it has six niches with stone sculptures. At the top there is Santa Maria da Assunção, the patroness of the Cathedral. Below, also in the middle, the image of St. Teotonio, a man of many virtues who was Prior of the Cathedral between 1112 and 1119 and is the patron of the city of Viseu. In the side niches are the four evangelists with the respective symbols: St. Mark, St. Luke, St. John and St. Matthew. - in: https://www.visitportugal.com/en/node/137319
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