Coimbra - Day Two

Today I took a tour of the Velha Universidade, Portugal's most prestigious university,  which was founded in 1290. The original teachers were Jesuits and the students all wear black cloaks in their honour. I started with the Grand Hall, a regal red room, which was originally the throne room of the Royal Palace, but now is an examination room for the students. The fine, old painted ceiling featured "Indo-Portuguese" themes to reflect Portugal's voyages of discovery. Next was Saint Michael's Chapel with its Manueline architecture and which was added on in the 16th century. It has a stately 2,000 pipe German built organ. However the star of the University was the King John's Library, which displays its 60,000 tomes in 18th century Baroque splendor.The reading tables are inlaid with exotic South American woods and the gorgeous ceiling is a trompe l'oeil masterpiece. Nearby was Coimbra's 11th century Old Cathedral. This is not to be confused with the town's New Cathedral, which was built in 1598. The Romanesque Sé Velha or Old Cathedral was essentially a church fortress with a crenellated roof as the Moors, although defeated,  were still considered a risk. Inside there are three front altars. The main altar was in a Flamboyant Gothic style showing its gorgeous gilt lines. On the right was a Renaissance Chapel depicting Jesus preaching with his disciples in a semi-circle on either side devotedly looking up at him. The Chapel to the left showed Peter being crucified upside down. In the evening I listened to some Fado music at the Fado ao Centro, where an all male ensemble of current and former university students sang some rather mournful and haunting traditional songs in their unique local style. Tomorrow I take the train to Porto.