Igreja de Santa Clara, Porto

Behind a restrained Renaissance portal near the medieval city walls, this church conceals one of the most lavishly gilded interiors in Porto. Its walls, columns and ceiling are smothered in carved and gilded woodwork in the exuberant national baroque style, so dense that the underlying stone almost disappears beneath glinting foliage, cherubs and birds. Founded as a convent church, it was extensively restored in recent years to recover the brilliance of the gold leaf. Fragments of Gothic fabric survive amid the decoration.