Igreja de Santa Clara

This guide to Igreja de Santa Clara in Porto starts with the Poor Clares who settled here in 1427 and lived cloistered behind these walls for nearly five centuries, using a wooden turning wheel to pass food and letters without ever being seen and spiked iron grilles to keep worshippers at Mass out of reach. It follows the community's decision in the 1730s to hire master carver Miguel Francisco da Silva and have him cover the interior in gold, turning plain granite into something else entirely. Look closely at the grilles by the choir before you move toward the altar.