Chapel of Nossa Senhora das Vitórias (Furnas)
Encyclopedia
The Chapel of Nossa Senhora das Vitórias , dedicated to Our Lady of the Victories, a small funerary chapel on the southwestern corner of Lagoa das Furnas in the civil parish of Furnas
, on the Azorean
island of São Miguel
.
, the gentleman-farmer of São Miguel, following the terminal illness of his beloved wife, Maria Guilhermina Taveira Brum do Canto. In his testament, dated on 27 June 1862, the rich landowner, wrote:
The plan was executed by the architect André Breton, who he entrusted with the commission in 1864. Breton's project, was influenced directly by the Seminary Church of Angers, followed José do Canto's aspirations and preferences.
The hermitage was completed during José do Canto's lifetime, near his summer home on Furnas Lake. It wa a small artistic miracle: a Neo-Gothic style chapel that imitated the great gathic cathedrals of Europe, in the rustic green-spaces of the North Atlantic archipelago. The hermitage was constructed in detailed basalt
and local tuff
by Micalense
stone masons, lead by master António de Sousa Redemoinho, of Vila Franca do Campo
, who started the project around the middle of the 1870s. It was valued, at the time of its construction, for its beautiful stained-glass windows.
By 1882, with the arrival of the pyramid-like spire, the project had come close to completion. It was a cruciform layout, typical of larger Gothic structures in Europe, but a third the size of the original Seminary Church.
It was solemnly inaugurated on 15 August 1886, by the property-owner, and written-up by many of the newspapers of the time for its beautiful stained-glass windows depicting the life of the Virgin, and in the chancel
a image in jasper
.
When the owner finally died, he was buried alongside his wife within the chapel, thus fulfilling his original intent.
The front pavement, in azulejo
by Moisseron et L. André, and executed in 1883, are laid in front of the main façade, which is reached by two flights of stairs, with an intermediary pad. The entrance is a triple-arch patio (three directions): the main door, also constructed by Moisseron et L. André, is a bronze-plated wood door with a grating of steel, also intalled by Moisseron et L. André.
The tower, of four stories, all with long, narrow Roman arches and sculpted capitals, and surmounted by an elegant spire. On top of the belfrey there are four small turrets with conical pinnacles, triangular niches along the spire and a Christian cross at the apex.
The high Gothic Romanesque exterior is complemented by a French-Parisian interior with appropriate liturgical equipment and decorations. The carved and gilded aedicula
, serves as a backdrop to the main altar surrounded by marble, that is faithful to the neo-Romanesque style. It is also present in the grid that separates the sanctuary from the body of the Chapel , the simplified organization of the altar of St. Joseph, or the carved marble font
s for holy water.
Another is the commitment to recovery of the late Gothic octagonal pulpit of wood, the chapel chairs and carved statuary. The figure of "Saint Joseph and Child" in an imitation of the Gothic style (like its predecessors completed by Moisseron et André Lda.), and the Virigin, in the Romanesque style, are a synthesis of the decorative and ornamental adaptions of the Chapel interior. As is the eclecticisim of these artefacts, with the suggestions of Byzantine gold and enamelled bronze light fixtures and stools.
Furnas
Furnas is a civil parish in the municipality of Povoação on the island of São Miguel in the Azores. The population in 2001 was 1,541, its density is 44.76/km² and the area is 34.43 km². The parish is one of the largest in the island and in the Azores...
, on the Azorean
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
island of São Miguel
São Miguel Island
São Miguel Island , nicknamed "The Green Island", is the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese Azores archipelago. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, 45,000 of these people located in the largest city in the archipelago: Ponta Delgada.-History:In 1427, São Miguel...
.
History
One of the architecturally rich religious temples in the Azores, it was erected by José do CantoJosé do Canto
José do Canto was Azorean landowner and intellectual who distinguished himself as a bibliographer and promoter new agricultural technologies and species into the Azores...
, the gentleman-farmer of São Miguel, following the terminal illness of his beloved wife, Maria Guilhermina Taveira Brum do Canto. In his testament, dated on 27 June 1862, the rich landowner, wrote:
- Having, during the great severity of my wife's illness in 1852, vowed to build a small chapel to the invocation of Our Lady of Victories, and not yet having achieved my purpose due to circumstances beyond to my will, I command that you complete the actual building...
The plan was executed by the architect André Breton, who he entrusted with the commission in 1864. Breton's project, was influenced directly by the Seminary Church of Angers, followed José do Canto's aspirations and preferences.
The hermitage was completed during José do Canto's lifetime, near his summer home on Furnas Lake. It wa a small artistic miracle: a Neo-Gothic style chapel that imitated the great gathic cathedrals of Europe, in the rustic green-spaces of the North Atlantic archipelago. The hermitage was constructed in detailed basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
and local tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
by Micalense
São Miguel Island
São Miguel Island , nicknamed "The Green Island", is the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese Azores archipelago. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, 45,000 of these people located in the largest city in the archipelago: Ponta Delgada.-History:In 1427, São Miguel...
stone masons, lead by master António de Sousa Redemoinho, of Vila Franca do Campo
Vila Franca do Campo
Vila Franca do Campo is a town and a municipality in the southern part of the island of São Miguel in the Portuguese Autonomous Region of the Azores...
, who started the project around the middle of the 1870s. It was valued, at the time of its construction, for its beautiful stained-glass windows.
By 1882, with the arrival of the pyramid-like spire, the project had come close to completion. It was a cruciform layout, typical of larger Gothic structures in Europe, but a third the size of the original Seminary Church.
It was solemnly inaugurated on 15 August 1886, by the property-owner, and written-up by many of the newspapers of the time for its beautiful stained-glass windows depicting the life of the Virgin, and in the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
a image in jasper
Jasper
Jasper, a form of chalcedony, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. This mineral breaks with a smooth surface, and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be highly polished and is used for vases, seals, and at one time for...
.
When the owner finally died, he was buried alongside his wife within the chapel, thus fulfilling his original intent.
Architecture
The church is situated on a slight elevation of the embankment, oriented towards the length of Furnas Lake, between the water of the lake and a dense forest of the adjacent property.Exterior
There are 13 three metre-high arcade windows: two twin windows in the nave, three simple windows in the axial chapel and the rest in the transept between the structural members. These windows were executed by Mégnen, Clamens et Borderau in 1883-1884, based on the instructions of José do Canto. Incased in steel and protected by a metal mesh screen, and applied by the original producers.The front pavement, in azulejo
Azulejo
Azulejo from the Arabic word Zellige زليج is a form of Portuguese or Spanish painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tilework. They have become a typical aspect of Portuguese culture, having been produced without interruption for five centuries...
by Moisseron et L. André, and executed in 1883, are laid in front of the main façade, which is reached by two flights of stairs, with an intermediary pad. The entrance is a triple-arch patio (three directions): the main door, also constructed by Moisseron et L. André, is a bronze-plated wood door with a grating of steel, also intalled by Moisseron et L. André.
The tower, of four stories, all with long, narrow Roman arches and sculpted capitals, and surmounted by an elegant spire. On top of the belfrey there are four small turrets with conical pinnacles, triangular niches along the spire and a Christian cross at the apex.
Interior
On the eastern end of its ample transept, is a chapel to Saint Joseph, and an open sacristy along the opposite wall. Within its high ceilings are columns, with sculpted, square capitols, which are duplicated in the square, exterior colonnades that support the structure.The high Gothic Romanesque exterior is complemented by a French-Parisian interior with appropriate liturgical equipment and decorations. The carved and gilded aedicula
Aedicula
In religion in ancient Rome, an aedicula is a small shrine. The word aedicula is the diminutive of the Latin aedes, a temple building or house....
, serves as a backdrop to the main altar surrounded by marble, that is faithful to the neo-Romanesque style. It is also present in the grid that separates the sanctuary from the body of the Chapel , the simplified organization of the altar of St. Joseph, or the carved marble font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
s for holy water.
Another is the commitment to recovery of the late Gothic octagonal pulpit of wood, the chapel chairs and carved statuary. The figure of "Saint Joseph and Child" in an imitation of the Gothic style (like its predecessors completed by Moisseron et André Lda.), and the Virigin, in the Romanesque style, are a synthesis of the decorative and ornamental adaptions of the Chapel interior. As is the eclecticisim of these artefacts, with the suggestions of Byzantine gold and enamelled bronze light fixtures and stools.