Church of Menino de Deus

Inside the church, the irregular octagonal shape and the colourings of the inlay of the ornaments give prominence to the Corinthian Order, which dominates the nave's architecture. The painting of the altars, the inlay of the marble and the pictorial decorations on the ceiling make the Church of the Baby Jesus an authentic artistic example of the Joan Cycle. The two large panels of pictorial works in the Chancel: "S. Francisco giving up his clothes" by Vieira Lusitano and that of "S. Jose and the death of S. Francisco " by André Rubira are outstanding.

The religious composition of the ceiling represents an allegory of the Franciscan Order. It was painted by Jerónimo da Silva, one of the best figurative painters of the time. The decoration of the flowers and ornaments is attributed to Vitorino da Serra and the architecture and perspectives to João Nunes de Abreu. The large altarpiece of the Corinthian Order in the Chancel is presumed to be by the Italian João António Bellini, one of the most productive architect and sculptors of altarpieces at the time, because of the well defined style.

The Church survived the earthquake of 1755, but suffered serious damage and desecration from 1910 onwards. The Brothers of St. Joseph of Cluny were invited by the Cardinal of Lisbon to convert the small "Convent" so as to be of service to the Alfama and Mouraria neighbourhoods.

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