Sanctuary of Christ the King
— — arms open across the river to the city.
Not only on a wall.
“A standing figure of Christ with arms outstretched above the Tagus, raised on the cliff at Almada so that it looks across the river to Lisbon. The pedestal climbs 75 metres and the statue itself adds another 28, the whole monument reaching 110 metres above the water. It was inaugurated in 1959 in thanksgiving for Portugal having been spared the Second World War, and modelled on Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer after Cardinal Cerejeira returned from Brazil with the idea. The 25 de Abril Bridge runs below.
Sanctuary of Christ the King, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
The Sanctuary of Christ the King, Santuário de Cristo Rei, stands on the south bank of the Tagus in the city of Almada, directly opposite Lisbon. The cliff itself rises about 133 metres above the river, and the monument adds another 110 metres on top of that, putting the outstretched hands well over 200 metres above the water. The sanctuary is reached by ferry from Cais do Sodré in Lisbon to Cacilhas and then a short bus or taxi up the hill, or by road across the 25 de Abril Bridge, which passes directly below the site.
The monument was conceived in 1934 after Cardinal Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira, the Patriarch of Lisbon, returned from Rio de Janeiro and proposed a Portuguese answer to Christ the Redeemer. Construction began in 1949 once the Portuguese episcopate pledged that the monument would be built if the country were spared the Second World War. The architect was António Lino and the sculptor Francisco Franco de Sousa. The reinforced-concrete pedestal stands 75 metres on four splayed piers; the statue of Christ on top is 28 metres tall. The complex was inaugurated on 17 May 1959.
An interior lift carries visitors up through the pedestal to a viewing platform at 80 metres, just beneath the statue's feet. From there the panorama covers central Lisbon, the long span of the 25 de Abril Bridge, the mouth of the Tagus, and on clear days the Sintra hills to the west. The sanctuary grounds include a chapel, a small museum on the monument's construction, and a gift shop. The site is open daily, with tickets sold for the lift; entry to the grounds and the chapel is free. The light is best in the late afternoon.