The Carmo Convent was built in 1389 by Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira, a faithful knight of King João I who made a radical change of life by renouncing his military career and dedicating himself entirely to prayer.
To build the convent he chose a place with an important symbolic and practical significance: the hill he chose was located in front of that of the Castle and was dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Vencimento.
The Carmo Convent was destroyed by the earthquake of 1755 that destroyed most of the buildings in Lisbon. The building was never renovated to be a memory of that tragedy.
After the earthquake, Carmo Convent suffered serious damage, Queen Maria I gave orders that it be rebuilt even more beautiful than the original.
The reconstruction work was not completed and in the nineteenth century, in the midst of the romantic cultural climate, it was thought that the ruins were more fascinating and so every renovation project was abandoned.
What was once the most impressive Gothic church in Lisbon is now just a skeleton of ruins.
Its slender arches, on which no ceiling rests, almost seem to support the sky thanks to the ruins of the Gothic naves.
Attached to the Carmo Convent is the Archaeological Museum where artifacts that tell the history of Lisbon from prehistory to the Middle Ages are exhibited with tombs of some Portuguese royalty.
Access to the Carmo Covent is through a Gothic portal, located a few steps from the exit of the Elevador de Santa Justa.
The Elevador de Santa Justa, also called Elevador do Carmo, is one of the symbols of Lisbon and is one of the most visited attractions in the city.
The construction connects the Baixa district to the Carmo hill quickly and effortlessly. Construction work began in 1898 and the elevator was inaugurated in 1901. For the first two years it was powered by a steam engine, then replaced with an electric one.
The structure is 45 meters high in total and the difference in height as a lift is 30 meters. The wooden cabins can hold up to 25 people.
Elevador de Santa Justa is currently the only vertical elevator for public use in Lisbon.
