History
The Carmo Convent was founded as a convent for the Carmelite Order in 1389 by the Portuguese knight Nuno Álvares Pereira. Álvares Pereira was Constable of Portugal, meaning that he was the supreme military commander after the King. At the service of King John I, Álvares Pereira commanded the Portuguese army in the decisive Battle of Aljubarrota (1385), in which the Portuguese guaranteed their independence by defeating the Castilian army.
The Carmo Convent was initially inhabited by Carmelites from Moura (southern Portugal), which entered the convent in 1392. In 1404, the pious Álvares Pereira donated his wealth to the convent and, in 1423, he also became a brother of the convent.
On November 1, 1755, the great earthquake destroyed most of the convent and its church. The Convent library and its 5000 books were all lost. The convent was remodelled and eventually became a military quarter. The church was never fully rebuilt and, after a period as wood storage house, it was donated in 1864 to the Association of Portuguese Archaeologists, which turned the ruined building into a museum.
In the 20th century, during the Carnation Revolution, the Carmo Headquarters was the last stronghold of the Presidente of the Estado Novo, Marcelo Caetano, and the military loyal to him. The old Carmo Convent building is now used by the Municipal Guard (Guarda Republicana).
Read more about this topic: Carmo Convent (Lisbon)
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