Igreja de São Roque

Behind a plain, almost austere facade, this former Jesuit church hides one of the most opulent interiors in Lisbon. Built in the late sixteenth century, it survived the 1755 earthquake intact and preserves a flat painted ceiling and a series of side chapels. The showpiece is the Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, assembled in Rome from lapis lazuli, agate, amethyst and gilt bronze before being shipped to Portugal and rebuilt, among the most costly chapels of its age. An adjoining museum shows the order's sacred art.