#filipa the prophet

[lacomandante]

        Okay so I’m gonna totally post these out of order so bear with me LOL. There are plenty more to follow!!!

         May 5th, we visited the Santuario de Nossa Senhora do Cabo Espichel, along the coastline of Portugal. This was one of the few locations actually located in the Iberian Peninsula that was used in Sharpe (and this one specifically in Rifles), so getting the chance to visit this gorgeous location was incredible. It was a beautiful day, and there were very few people visiting, so we got a wonderful tour of it overall- I only wish the giant ugly signs weren’t there :(. It’s really interesting to compare the buildings from then and now- a lot of damage from the harsh weather of the coastline and time has chipped away at it. All of the windows and doors of the long hostel houses were sealed with concrete, and much was in disrepair that we did see. The song that plays during this shot in Rifles was stuck in my head the whole time.

        We got a chance to visit the church as well, as when we first got there it was closed, so we felt very lucky to go inside! And the interior looks almost the same as it did in Rifles, except there has been extensive work done to preserve the paintings and statues inside. Sadly, there weren’t any photos allowed inside (though Sam snuck two of me in there, I won’t post them here for reasons I’ll explain in a bit). It was just me, Luca, and Sam inside, as well as a volunteer who looked after the building: we whispered very quietly among ourselves and looked at the beautiful artwork and sculptures, and went to the little souvenir table. We asked Luca how to say how much something was in Portuguese, when Filipa, the volunteer, told us in English that we didn’t have to whisper LOL. We all laughed at that.

       I ended up asking her out of curiosity as to why no photographs were allowed, as I had seen some online. Apparently because this location isn’t visited often and in very poor condition, people have stolen and continue to steal a lot from the sanctuary and surrounding area. About two weeks before we came, someone broke into the prophet’s house (not pictured) and shattered the glass and I believe were trying to steal tiles. So it was understandable, but disappointing, as the church hosts the most elaborate and expensive parts of the sanctuary. There are plenty of photos of the interior on the internet, and people sneak photos, but it was the principal of the matter and I don’t want Filipa to be disappointed in me for posting them and I want to respect that rule, (even if we broke it in private...oops) so I won’t.

       We spent a good half hour just chatting with her about the area and its history, and she showed us photos of the reconstruction, and she was incredibly kind and so knowledgeable. It was a long shot, but I had shown her photos of the praying scene that follows their arrival to this spot in the film, and Sam and I had done extensive research to figure out where it was, to no avail- it didn’t match this location, and Filipa confirmed that she had been inside every part of the sanctuary, and it wasn’t there, and we exchanged contact info because she wanted to try and figure it out. Later that night she apparently did research and confirmed where it actually was- in another sanctuary in Sintra, “more abandoned than this one!” she said. She used to actually live by it- I was blown away with her kindness and dedication to finding it after all that. So next time we visit Portugal, that will be on the list! It’s incredible that just on a whim I decided to ask; it couldn’t hurt, could it? And it turned out that she managed to locate exactly where it was. It’s so wild how that all worked out but it was SUCH an awesome experience and Filipa was the coolest person ever!!!

        It’s sad that rooms were all boarded up. Apparently the location is shared by government, the nearby town, and the monastery, and all three have been fighting over what to do with it. Many want the hostel to open again, which would allow money to flood in to be put towards restorations that are very badly needed, and bring more people to see the sanctuary. But on the other hand, people didn’t want this place to become a tourist attraction. Filipa herself said it she would prefer it to reopen and draw more people, than to let it suffer its current fate- it’ll only get worse with time and the harsh weather. I have more photos that I’ll post later surrounding the site- the ocean view was beautiful from here! It really is a gorgeous location, if not quite isolated.

#;kiran goes to spain 2023 #(block that tag if you don't want to see my posts LOL) #sharpe's rifles #sharpe #;ooc #(i bought a keychain from Filipa #(its got a picture of the church and the long buildings and a picture of the statue of mary on the back thats inside) #(i really love that keychain!! its on my keyring now) #(i got a postcard as well and a really cute polaroid sam took of me ;w;) #(SAM IM SORRY I FUCKED UP THE ONLY PHOTO OF YOU HERE WITH THE STRING OF THE CAMERA)

[lukeskywaker4ever]

Batalha Monastery: The Main Door and the South Door

As we approach the Main Facade, we come across a fully sculpted portal, defined by an arc of curved and counter curved lines (conopial or carena) that ends in a pointed part where the shields of D. João I and D. Filipa de Lencastre. At the top appears Christ crowning the Virgin and only then, within the arch itself, separating these images from the others, does everything else appear.

This arch represents the Celestial Court and has six archs of broken arch that form the tympanum at the top where are the four evangelists with their attributes and Christ in Majesty.

Archivolts have 78 images separated from each other by canopies and which, as they approach the center, represent a higher degree in the hierarchy of the Church. They are as follows:

in the last two archivolts Santos, Santas and Martyrs,

next, the Kings of Israel, then the prophets,

in the second, the musician angels with the medieval musical instruments, such as the port organ, charamela, psaltery, bow viola, etc., 

and in the first, the seraphim, represented with its 3 pairs of wings and symbolizing the highest degree in the angelic hierarchy.

In the jambas of the portal we have 12 figures that stand out for their size, considerably larger than the others, they are the twelve Apostles, here also represented as the pillars of the Church, since they are "supporting" all other figures indicating clearly the symbology of “go and scatter in the 4 corners ...”

The South Gate of the Monastery also held on top the Coast of Arms of the King and Queen.

#batalha monastery #mosteiro da batalha #portugal #reblog

[hotelsmarket]

Pestana Hotel Group Completes Global Rollout Of SiteMinder's Online Distribution Platform

Portugal’s largest international tourism and leisure group and the 25th largest in Europe, Pestana Hotel Group, has completed a global rollout of SiteMinder’s online distribution platform across the majority of its properties. The enterprise rollout sees SiteMinder’s Channel Manager integrated with OPERA, the hotel management system for 65 of Pestana’s properties located in Europe, Africa and North America.  João Machado, the executive committee member for IT & Business Intelligence at Pestana, says the group-wide implementation of SiteMinder’s technology will provide the data and efficiencies needed to support the group’s growth in international markets.  “Pestana’s growth strategy is focused on diversifying outside of its established markets, into the United States and further into Europe, with hotels that can meet both corporate and leisure demand. This diversification in feeder markets will allow us to expand more effectively across the world’s top travel destinations, and the global reach provided by SiteMinder is fundamental to supporting that growth.  “The Pestana properties already live with the integration are reporting very positive results, and we ourselves can see that through the enterprise features of SiteMinder’s Channel Manager. This is a major competitive advantage; having full transparency over the revenue and reservations coming through to our business, and where they are coming from, so we can adapt in an informed way.”  With its growing portfolio of more than 11,000 rooms, Pestana Hotel Group today generates over €400 million in annual revenue and is the only Portugal-headquartered hotel group to feature in HOTELS’s Corporate 300 list. Each year, Pestana attracts more than three million travellers to its four and five-star hotels in 14 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela, Portugal, Germany, the UK, Cape Verde, Morocco, Mozambique, Spain, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Africa and the USA. Its collection of hotels is underway to grow to 100 properties in 16 countries within the next two years.  “We are pleased to have Pestana join SiteMinder’s fast-growing travel network. Pestana is a thriving, respected brand the world over, with a clear desire to diversify its online presence beyond traditional channels and into newer distribution verticals. We are delighted to be able to provide these, and to support Pestana through our local teams in Europe and the United States,” says Filipa Campos, director of enterprise – EMEA at SiteMinder. Media contact  Maria Franco [phone] [email protected]  About SiteMinder  As the leading cloud platform for hotels, SiteMinder allows hotels to attract, reach and convert guests across the globe. We serve hotels of all sizes with award-winning solutions for independents and groups alike, wherever they are in the world.  SiteMinder’s products include The Channel Manager, the industry’s leading online distribution platform; TheBookingButton, a wholly-branded booking engine for direct bookings via the web, mobile or social; Canvas, the intelligent website creator for independent hoteliers; Prophet, the real-time market intelligence solution that takes the guesswork out of pricing rooms; and GDS by SiteMinder, a single-point of entry to a six-figure network of travel agents and the world’s major GDSs. With more than 23,000 hotel customers and 550 of the industry's top connectivity providers as our partners, today we have presence in more than 160 countries on six continents.  For more information, visit www.siteminder.com or meet the team at BTL (stand 2C67).  About Pestana Hotel Group Pestana Hotel Group is the largest international tourism and leisure group of Portuguese origin  and the 25th largest in Europe. It remains the only Portuguese hotel group to be featured in the Corporate 300 listing by HOTELS magazine. There are eight business divisions operating under the Pestana brand including: Hotels & Resorts, Pousadas de Portugal, Holiday Ownership, Gaming, Travel, Golf and Residence, Industry and International Business Centre of Madeira.  Starting with one hotel in Madeira Island in 1972, the family-owned Pestana Hotel Group has grown to include nearly 90 four and five-star hotels worldwide with four brands: Pestana Hotels & Resorts, Pestana Collection Hotels, Pestana CR7 Lifestyle Hotels and Pestana Pousadas de Portugal. Its properties can be found in 14 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela, Portugal, Germany, the UK, Cape Verde, Morocco, Mozambique, Spain, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Africa and the USA.  For more information, visit www.pestana.com. Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Request Information from this organization Please click the link below to request more information from the organization or company featured in this article.