Chapel of St. Catherine, Velh Goa

Jo got this sudden urge to do some sketching. Well and good! He wanted to go somewhere, sit there and sketch. Even better! He said we should start in the morning and be back by afternoon. I said, "a picnic lunch?" and got on the job of getting ready a lovely lunch for the three of us, an architectural intern including. Bright and early on sunday morning, packed our picnic basket and clutching our sketch books and pencils, we set off to Velha Goa or old Goa. 

Since there was no plan as such, we parked where there was parking available, and sauntered on. We came across this beautiful old structure, and stopped there. It turns out to be  the Chapel of St. Catherine. It is right next to the archaeological survey of India museum. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site in Velha Goa.

That is we spent the next two and half hours sketching and studying the monument.  

 

It is the perfectly proportioned Chapel I have seen. It is constructed in laterite stone, which having been exposed to the monsoons of Goa, and the salty humid weather, turned to beautiful burnished red and brown shades. Part of the front facade is plastered in lime mortar.

The two towers flank the main entrance on either side. Surprisingly on the entrance door posts, lintel and jamb are made of light grey granite along with a door jamb on another door. Rest is all in laterite. 

 

The name plate states that the Chapel was constructed in 1510AD bu Alfonso de Albuquerque to commemorate his entry into the city on St. Catherine's day. It was rebuilt in 1952.

The Chapel sits on a gently sloping site, with lawns on three sides.

 

The interiors are simple; granite stone slabs for the flooring, laterite stone walls and ceiling in above the altar, which keep the place very cool and airy.

 

There is a choir gallery above the entrance area, facing the altar, the stairs to which are from the side verandah.

 

There is a wide walkway on the side.

There are a couple of plaques of stone inscriptions on the walls in Portugese language.

For the students of architecture, there is a lot to learn from the perfect proportions, the forms, and the material from this jewel of a monument dating back to the 16th. century.