Convento dos Capuchos

The Convento da Santa Cruz da Serra da Sintra, always called the Capuchos, was founded in 1560 for a community of eight Franciscan friars and built deliberately small, low and poor. The cells are barely large enough to lie down in, doorways force a stoop, and the walls, ceilings and door frames are lined with cork - insulation against the damp cold of the serra, and the reason it is often called the Cork Convent. Rooms are wedged between granite boulders that were left in place rather than cleared, so the building works around the mountain. It was occupied until 1834 when the religious orders were dissolved, and it sat abandoned until restoration. Byron visited and wrote about it. The setting is dense mossy woodland with a spring, hermit caves and a penitent's cell nearby, and there is no bus, so most people come by car or taxi.

History

The convent was founded in 1560 for eight friars from the convent of Arrábida under Álvaro de Castro, counsellor of state, carrying out the wish of his father, João de Castro, the fourth viceroy of India, who, the legend says, got lost hunting a deer in the Sintra hills, fell asleep against a rock and dreamed he should build a church there. Pope Pius IV granted indulgences in 1564, the Chapel of Santo António and an enclosing wall were built in 1578-1580 under Cardinal Henry, and Philip II visited soon after. Its most famous friar, Honório, is said to have lived to 100 although he spent his last three decades in a small hole in the convent, which still exists; he died in 1596, and his story struck Robert Southey and Byron. King John IV visited in October 1654, and the friars stayed until the religious orders were abolished (Wikipedia, Convent of the Capuchos - Sintra).

What you'll find

• The cork lining - walls, ceilings and door frames faced with cork against the damp.
• The tiny cells - rooms barely large enough to lie down in, with stooping doorways.
• The boulders - granite left in place, with the convent built around it.
• The woodland - mossy forest with a spring and hermit caves around the site.

When to go

Year-round; it is damp and mossy in any season, which is the point. One hour. Numbers are limited, so booking is worth doing in high season.

Before you go

No public transport - a car or taxi is required. Doorways and passages are very low and narrow; not suitable for anyone with mobility problems or claustrophobia. Constantly damp and often fogged. Small, so an hour is enough.

Nearby

Peninha and its chapel are further west; Sintra town is east.

Key facts