Collaboration Carved in Stone
- penelopeeicher
- Jul 23, 2022
- 2 min read
In case you missed it, read Why are we here in Portugal.
We have been searching for a place to rent without much success. A one-year lease is required to apply for a long-term residential visa in Portugal. There are few, if any, apartments available in the towns where we would like to live, and often places have been leased but not removed from the listings. In spite of the frustrations, we have been enjoying some special places in Lisbon and central Portugal.
Yesterday morning we woke to this wonderful view of the oldest monastery in Portugal, the Alcobaca Monastery and spectacular church, started in 1174 C.E. In contrast to our modern hurry-up society, I marvel at the vision of the builders of Europe’s cathedrals, churches, and monasteries. They knew these great works would not be completed in their own lifetimes.
Yesterday we enjoyed nearly three hours exploring this stunning complex. We will return for more.
A week ago, while visiting another huge Gothic church and monastery in nearby Batalha, our friend Clyde showed us several symbols that stone artisans carved into the block as their “signatures” to each block. Now we see them everywhere. I am hooked on hunting them down and photographing these ciphers from the past.
Tim writes: “In the church and monastery in Alcobaca, we discovered that one of the huge supporting columns in the nave was signed by multiple craftsmen. Walking around the pillar, close to eye level, we saw a different signature on each stone. Our best guess was that this particular pillar was selected to showcase the collaboration of the principal craftsmen. While we could find blocks around the monastery with distinctive signatures, only the one pillar highlighted such a collection of individual signatures.”
Wandering around so much astonishing beauty of design and art, I ponder: What wonders could we accomplish in our modern times if we were more inclined to collaborate rather than compete and divide? I think we could collectively hold up the entire sky.
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