English
Church of Our Lady of Penha de França
Britona, Goa, India
Religious Architecture
The Church of Penha de França is one of the most extraordinarily sited churches in Goa, one of the most visible from far away and hence one of the most noted by all visitors to the territory. It sits atop a rocky spur almost at water level by the Mandovi, facing east where the riverbank bends northward opposite Ponte de Linhares on the other side of the river. The façade is constantly on the horizon of those travelling by river or land from Old Goa to the river mouth. The church of the Britona Rectory or of Penha da França has existed since the Franciscans began the Christianisation of Bardez. It is potentially one of Goa’s most interesting examples of religious architecture, yet we have no precise knowledge of any details of its construction process. Published information indicates that the church we visit nowadays was initially built from 1626 on by Ana de Azevedo, a professed member of the Third Order of Saint Francis, who donated the church and adjacent land to the Franciscans. It was rebuilt from the ground up starting in 1655 – a Franciscan initiative. The façade is crowned by polygonal towers, which only appeared in Goa’s architecture in the project for the Franciscans’ mother church dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi in Old Goa, built in the 1660s and following decades. This building also has a vault covering both the chancel and the nave itself, which is very rare in parish churches. These are barrel vaults with penetrations, a roof type which only seems to have been disseminated in Goan architecture after the 1650s, due to influence from the Jesuit and Theatine projects in Old Goa. We must conclude that either the Church of Penha da França constituted an experimental model of Franciscan architecture or the 1655 date put forward for the project until now is mistaken. Except for the crown, the church’s main façade follows the traditional Franciscan model, with a large galilee at the base opened by three arches (the central one larger than the other two) and a staircase in two sections which descends to the riverbank and the quay that was formerly the church’s main access. Inside, the building has a single nave with no side chapels, as well as a false transept and a high choir supported by the galilee. The old rectory building is to the south, joined by a patio. To the north is the courtyard ground where thechurch’s side is treated as a sumptuous façade element, as often occurs in Goa, via a system of windows with pediments and a double order of pilasters. The ground level of this court is lower than the church; access to the north side door is by a staircase with two facing sections, as at the main entrance. In the mid-1990s this door was given a concrete portico; the church’s current tile roof also dates to that time.