Convento de Santa Cruz do Buçaco, 17th-century Carmelite convent in Luso, Portugal.
The Convento de Santa Cruz do Buçaco is a Carmelite convent from the 17th century built with white quartz walls marked by coal tar inlay, cork ceilings, and stone-paved corridors. Eleven separate shrines dot the grounds, each connected by walking paths that guide visitors through the structures.
The Barefoot Carmelites received the land from the Bishop of Coimbra in 1628 and began construction by building a surrounding wall to protect their property. The monastery developed over decades as a monastic retreat within the forest until it became a notable religious center.
The convent belonged to the Discalced Carmelites, who occupied it from 1630 until 1834, when Portugal suppressed the male religious orders. In 1660 Father Pantaleão Garcia de Mascarenhas paid 60$000 réis for the Gospel-side transept chapel as his burial place, also leaving a silver chalice and the vestments of the chapel of São Brás in Avô. The conventual church's chapel, with Baroque altarpieces, still stands beside the Palace Hotel.
The convent stands inside the Mata Nacional do Buçaco, in the parish of Luso, Mealhada. Only the chapel with its Baroque altarpieces survives beside the Palace Hotel of Buçaco, since most buildings were demolished in 1888. The site is open to the public as a tourist attraction, and the surrounding forest is crossed on foot.
In 1810, during the Peninsular War, the convent housed Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who commanded the Anglo-Portuguese forces against General André Massena at the Battle of Bussaco. He stayed there; he was not buried there. The chapel, with Baroque altarpieces, still stands beside the Palace Hotel.
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