08/16/2026
⛪ The Chapel of Our Lady of Pena
The chapel is dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Pena (Our Lady of Pena). A small chapel existed on this mountain as early as the 12th century, reportedly connected with stories of apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Later, King Manuel I ordered a monastery to be built here in the early 1500s.
The amazing part is what happened in 1755.
🌊 The 1755 Lisbon earthquake
On November 1, 1755, one of the most devastating earthquakes in European history struck Lisbon. It caused enormous destruction throughout the region, followed by fires and a tsunami.
The Pena monastery was severely damaged and essentially left in ruins, but the chapel’s main altar area survived. In particular, the magnificent marble and alabaster retable (altar piece) survived remarkably well.
One important note: the chapel did not completely escape all damage.
✨ Looking closely at the altar
The altar you see today contains an extraordinary alabaster and limestone retable, created between 1529 and 1532 by the French-born Renaissance sculptor Nicolau de Chanterenne, commissioned by King João III.
That’s what makes standing inside that little chapel so special: you are looking at a piece of the original monastery that dates back roughly 500 years and survived the destruction of 1755.
And when Ferdinand II bought the ruined monastery in 1838, he deliberately incorporated the surviving old monastery and chapel into the new Romantic palace rather than simply demolishing everything and starting over.
So standing inside this chapel, you we were actually standing in one of the oldest surviving pieces of Pena Palace—not just a 19th-century part of the palace. ❤️
Cover photo copied from Lisbon site
All other video original
