This second episode leaves the church for the monastic buildings, where Sao Vicente reveals its most singular treasures. The cloisters are lined with one of the largest ensembles of Baroque azulejos in Portugal, thousands of blue and white tiles composing narrative cycles, including a celebrated series illustrating the fables of La Fontaine, an unexpected subject for a religious house and a striking example of how printed images circulated across Europe. Beyond them lies the former refectory, converted into the pantheon of the House of Braganza, where the kings and queens who ruled Portugal from the seventeenth century until the fall of the monarchy lie in tombs of dark stone. Stairways lead to terraces and roof walks from which the Alfama, the Tagus and the Pantheon of Santa Engracia come into view. Together with the first part, the programme documents one of the essential monuments of Lisbon and one of the richest sites in Europe for the art of the painted tile.
