National Pantheon (Church of Santa Engrácia)

Why go

The National Pantheon occupies the church of Santa Engrácia, a Baroque building on a Greek-cross plan; its operator's history page says the present church was begun from the ground up in 1682 to a design by João Antunes, stood unfinished for centuries, and was completed in a campaign that started in 1960, and its 'about' page says it was inaugurated as the National Pantheon on 7 December 1966. Its tomb chambers hold presidents of the Republic, writers including Almeida Garrett and Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, the singer Amália Rodrigues and the footballer Eusébio, and the nave has cenotaphs to figures including Vasco da Gama and Luís de Camões. Its operator, Museus e Monumentos de Portugal, describes the central nave, the tomb chambers, the high choir, an interpretive centre, a temporary exhibition room and a terrace rising to 40 metres. The operator's visit page says admission and movement in the building are organised to stay within recommended capacity limits, that groups must book in advance, and that smoking and eating are not allowed on the tour circuit. Wikidata keeps the building (Q1601019) apart from the National Pantheon as an institution (Q141549595); this record is the building as visited.