Organization Studies’s Updates

While in Lisbon for the Twenty-fourth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations, you can visit the Sé Cathedral.


While in Lisbon for the Twenty-fourth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations, you can visit the Sé Cathedral.

In the city's Castelo district near the ancient Alfama neighborhood, Lisbon's fortified Romanesque cathedral — the Sé — has undergone several design makeovers since the original structure was consecrated in 1150. A series of earthquakes culminating in the devastating 1755 tremor completely destroyed that which stood in the 12th century.

What you see today is a blend of architectural styles, the standout features being the twin castellated bell towers that embellish the downtown skyline — particularly evocative in the late afternoon when a setting sun burnishes the brickwork with a golden veneer.

Inside, a resplendent rose window helps illuminate a rather gloomy interior, and you're likely to head straight for the treasury where the cathedral's most valuable artifacts are on display, items that include silverware made up of chalices and reliquaries, intricately embroidered vestments, statuary, and a number of rare illustrated manuscripts.

It's also worth lingering in the Gothic cloister, not so much for its series of chapels (including one that retains its 13th-century wrought-iron gate), but for the fact that on-site excavations have revealed the foundations of Roman and Moorish dwellings (the cathedral was built over the ruins of a mosque) and the archaeological dig is a worthwhile visitor attraction in its own right.

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