Places
Leça do Balio Monastery and Open Sculpture
- / - / Álvaro Siza
séc. X / séc. XIV / 2024
Saturday + Sunday
Alexandre Delmar
Regular Visits
Visits in English
Tours
Sat 11h, Fundação Livraria Lello Guides / Sun 16h, Architect António Choupina
Caleidoscópio
Maximum 40 people per visit
No reservation required; first-come, first-served
Wheelchair access
Photography not allowed
Description
The Monastery of Leça do Balio was acquired by the Lionesa Group in 2016, and Architect Siza Vieira and Architect Sidónio Pardal were asked to design a future for the Monastery that would help reactivate this important heritage of pioneering spirit and humanism, with its unavoidable connection to the Way of St James. The work began in 2020 and was completed in June 2024. The project to restore, enhance and publicise the Monastery of Leça do Balio includes not only the structural rehabilitation of a heritage site of high historical, cultural and architectural value, in order to preserve a space that has been considered a national monument since 1910, but also the creation of a new building - Siza’s Open Sculpture. This sculpture, a 20x20 metre wide white concrete structure also designed by the architect Siza Vieira, seeks to underline and give visibility to the importance that the Monastery of Leça do Balio has had over the years in supporting pilgrims on the Portuguese Way to Santiago: a space for introspection, with an outdoor patio and a more reserved covered area, this is an ecumenical space where, in the Gothic tradition and pioneering spirit of Leça do Balio, light plays an important role throughout the day. (Fundação Livraria Lello)
Location
Rua Santos Lessa, Leça do Balio (Monastery)
Directions: Google Maps / Apple Maps
Public Transport
Bus: STCP 505, 602 / UNIR 128, 5024