This unique Portuguese chapel is at once a breathtakingly unique work of art and an homage to religious history.
Capela das Almas, or Chapel of Souls, is an early 18th-century neoclassical church in Porto, Portugal, located on Ruа dе Sаntа Саtаrinа in the busy shopping district of Sаntо Ildеfоnsо. Yet, the church remains the most conspicuous presence on the street for a very special feature: the chapel is covered in almost 16,000 decorative ceramic tiles, called “azulejos,” in eye-popping blue and white.
The impressive front of Chapel of Souls, decorated with azulejo tiles in Porto, Portugal. (Mo Wu/Shutterstock)
Characteristic azulejo tile work along the side of Chapel of Souls in Porto, Portugal. (Fotokon/Shutterstock)
The tiles are arranged in panels depicting the lives of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Catherine in various religious scenes, including the death of the former and the martyrdom of the latter. The tiles were designed by Eduardo Leite and were made by Fábrica Viúva Lamego in Lisbon in 1929….