The
Porto Cathedral (Portuguese:
Sé do Porto) is one of the city's oldest monuments and one of the most important Romanesque monuments in Portugal
The current Cathedral of Porto underwent construction around 1110 under the patronage of
Bishop Hugo and was completed in the 13th century, but there is evidence that the city has been a bishopric seat since the Suevi domination in the 5th-6th centuries.
The cathedral is flanked by two square towers, each supported with two buttresses and crowned with a cupola. The façade lacks decoration and is rather architecturally heterogeneous. It shows a Baroque porch and a beautiful Romanesque rose
window under a crenellated arch, giving the impression of a fortified church.
The Romanesque nave is rather narrow and is covered by barrel
vaulting. It is flanked by two aisles with a lower vault. The stone roof of the central aisle is supported by flying
buttresses, making the building one of the first in Portugal to use this architectonic feature.
This first Romanesque building has suffered many alterations but the general aspect of the façade has remained romanesque.
The external appearance of the Cathedral was greatly altered during Baroque times. In 1772 a new main portal substituted the old Romanesque original and the tower cupolas were altered. Around 1732 Italian architect Nicolau
Nasoni added an elegant Baroque loggia to the lateral façade of the Cathedral. During the War
of
the
Oranges whilst the battle at Amarante was taking place a group of Spanish soldiers briefly took control of the Cathedral before being overcome by the locals of the town. A marble plaque with a Magnetite backing now hangs up behind the altar in order to remind everyone of those who lost their lives whilst regaining control of the chapel. The magnetite backing was chosen in order to remind those travelling near the cathedral by interfering with the direction in which their compass points,
