Sao Pedro Monastery, Arouca, Portugal
Silence. The Sao Pedro Monastery in the Portuguese town of Arouca is quiet now, its rooms empty of the nuns who once lived here. But even in the days when it was full, there was no noise.
No sounds escaped from the lips of the residents; no conversations echoed through the cloisters; there was no shouting, no laughing, no crying.
The young women who joined this monastery would take a vow of silence upon entry. They were generally sent here by their families at the age of about 17 or 18 and, until their dying day, they would not utter a sound.
For some of these girls, Sao Pedro was a prison sentence at first. In the hills of northern Portugal, in the small town of Arouca, they were far from home and far from the rest of the country. The landscape in the region is beautiful – with rocky mountains, large waterfalls and lush green forests – but that provides little comfort for those sent away from their homes.
From the moment the girls walked into the Sao Pedro Monastery, they were banned from having any contact with the outside world. They would never walk back out through those doors. Their life was to be confined within these walls.
Not that life was awful and uncomfortable. Each nun lived in a large room with their own furniture, which was brought from home. Although the motto here was “work and pray”, in reality all they would do is pray. They had servants for the work.
Most of the young women came from wealthy families and they were permitted to have two maids each. “It’s funny because they had to take a vow of poverty but this was anything but”, my guide jokes.
I’m getting a guided tour around the monastery today because now it is merely a museum – although the attached cathedral is still in use. The monastery dates originally from the 10th century but this latest incarnation of the buildings is from the 17th and 18th century. All put together it forms a large rectangle with three inner patios.
The museum gives you a taste of how life once was here for the silent order. For those interested in religious history, the collection includes vestments, liturgical books, paintings and other items. And the church itself – along with the area for the nuns – is architecturally stunning and lavishly-decorated. For a small town far from Portugal’s population, a lot of money and effort has gone into this place.
I’m told that the local authorities hope to one day convert some of the space in the monastery into a youth hostel.
Interesting idea… but good luck trying to keep those guests silent!
Time Travel Turtle was a guest of the Porto and Northern Portugal Tourism Association but the opinions, over-written descriptions and bad jokes are his own.
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Turtle, like the name suggests, likes to take things slowly. Luckily that's one of the best ways to see the world - and that's exactly what he's doing at the moment.
This is the website of travel writer, Michael Turtle. After working in broadcast journalism for a decade in Australia, Michael left Sydney to travel the world indefinitely and write about the places, people and experiences he discovers. This isn't a diary - these are real stories from the world.
12 Responses
It reminds me of Camaldouli Hermits, who were also not allowed to speak, except for the phrase “memento mori’- “remember that you’ll die”. Pretty creepy to have those as your only vocabulary for the rest of your life, better be completely silent.
Ele recently posted..Nemokamos lankytinos vietos Varšuvoje
Sometimes I think being silent forever wouldn’t be too bad. It would give me a chance to catch up on all that reading I’ve been meaning to do!
Beautiful photos! This seems like a great place for photos and just relaxed reading. A hostel would be very odd in that area though!
Rease recently posted..How to Go Freelance and Not Starve
A hostel would be in the middle of nowhere. But I guess that would be the charm. There are lots of beautiful walks and activities in the area.
I am off to visit a monastery today in Mardin, Turkey. I wonder if it will be as grand as this one
Natalie recently posted..The Church of the Redeemer and the True Cross
Let me know how it was. This one was pretty grand indeed.
Seems like a bit of a waste of lives, locked up in a monastery unable to speak. Still, horses for courses.
Laurence recently posted..Girona and the talisman of the Ice Age
I’m sure they got used to it. And they would have thought that sacrificing themselves for their god would not have been a waste, I’m sure. I’m sure there were many people in that monastery who thought it was the people outside who were wasting their lives. As you say: horses, courses.
Looks pretty in photos definitely, but not allowed to speak at all, a bit harsh.. Maybe youth hostel would make sense then…
Jarmo recently posted..Yi Peng – The Beauty of the Floating Lantern Festival
As long as you can speak at the hostel. It would be a bit boring otherwise…
There was a monastery that my mom would take me to visit regularly as a child. The nuns also took a vow of silence and though you could not actually see them when visiting, you could hear them chanting for the twenty minutes each day they were allowed to break their silence.
Jennifer recently posted..Lorraine American WWII Cemetery and Memorial
I wonder if it would be harder to be completely silent or to have twenty minutes when you can make sounds. It’s kind of teasing them, really, to remind them of what it’s like to talk.