Before I tell you a little bit about this setting, I'll tell you a story (hope you like fairy tales, more or less). Do you remember when I talked on a previous post, about Coimbra and a story that happen some centuries ago, where the protagonists where D. Pedro and D. Inês de Castro!? No, so get ready.
So like any other story; Once upon a time... I'm kidding!!!
On August 24, in Lisbon Cathedral, Infante Dom Pedro, heir to the throne, was marrying D. Constance, daughter of D. João Manuel of Castile, however it was by one of the maids of his wife, that D . Pedro fell in love, D. Inês de Castro, and thus marked the beginning of one of the (tragic) love stories.
This was a love affair frowned upon either by the court as to the people and consequently for the king himself. D. Afonso IV, under the guise of morality, in the year 1344, sent into exile D. Inês. But distance does not faded the love they felt for each other, because according to legend, they exchanged letters assiduously.
After the death of D. Constance, D. Inês returns from exile at the request of Don Pedro, but against the will of the king, and so continued his romance, having D. Inês given birth to four children of Pedro. After a few years in the North, they returned to Coimbra and settled in the Palace of Santa Clara. Rumors of a secret wedding, with serious political implications, with murder rumors to the rightful heir, the king decided that the death of D. Inês was the right decision. That said, on January 7 of 1355, the king ordered the execution of Inês, to Pêro Coelho, Álvaro Gonçalves and Diogo Pacheco. According to legend, the tears of D. Inês created the Fountain of Tears and his blood was marked on the rocks.
The death of D. Inês revolted D. Pedro, and so when he became king legitimized their children, claiming that he had married D. Inês, and then sent to pursue their killers. He sent to execute Pêro Coelho and Álvaro Gonçalves (according to legend, the king sent to rip the heart out, one through his chest and the other through the back), Diogo Pacheco managed to escape, and in his death bed, the king forgave him. D. Pedro declared D. Inês Queen of Portugal (already dead), and according to what is said, forced his court to kiss her hand. Even now their tombs are together in Alcobaça Monastery.
The End!!
Now I can talk about Quinta das Lágrimas :)
As you have noticed, Quinta das Lágrimas has a special place in the history of Portugal and is another magical place to visit in Coimbra.
The Quinta is located on the left bank of the Mondego, occupies a 18.3 hectare area around a nineteenth century palace, which is now a luxury hotel. In its gardens are accumulated memories from the fourteenth century. And it's in the gardens that we can find the Fountain of Love and the Fountain of Tears.
This property belonged to Santa Isabel of Aragon, Queen of Portugal and grandmother of D. Pedro, on it she ordered to make a canal to bring water from two springs at the Convent of Santa Clara (the water still runs and is drinkable, so you can drink without any problem). To the place where the water exits is called "Fountain of Love" (where, according to legend, D. Pedro and D. Inês exchanged correspondence), and the other fountain was named by Camões, in "Os Lusiadas" as "Fountain of Tears". Lies an inscription near the Fountain of Tears (did I mention that it has a cross shape !?) withdrawal from the canto III of Camões work (sorry for not translating it, but it would sound weird):
"As filhas do Mondego, a morte escura
Longo tempo chorando memoram
E por memória eterna em fonte pura
As lágrimas choradas transformaram
O nome lhe puseram que ainda dura
Dos amores de Inês que ali passaram
Vede que fresca fonte rega as flores
Que as Lágrimas são águas e o nome amores".
Over the centuries, the Quinta became the property of the University of Coimbra and a religious order and was subsequently acquired by a family. In 1650, it was walled and built the tank that receives water from the Fountain of Tears and headed to power the grinding wheels of an oil mill.
See you in the next trip :)
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