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Of Churches, Monuments and their history
Church of Our Lady of the Mount
 There
is one church in Old Goa, which often gets overlooked as it is some
2 kms from the central area, to the east. The Church of Our Lady
of the Mount is boarded up and decaying now, with blackened walls
and graffiti decorating the pillars of the porch. There's an almost
spooky emptiness as you peer through the window into the vast, echoing,
empty chancel, made all the more poignant by the fact that few people
find time to venture this far. Approached by a long flight of steps,
the hill on which the church stands commands an excellent view of
the whole of Old Goa. This reputed to the point from where Yousuf
Adil Shah placed his artillery during the assault to recapture the
city in May 1510. The church was built shortly afterwards in 1519.
Church of Our Lady of the Rosary
Passing beneath the flying buttresses of the convent of St Monica,
about 200m further along the road one comes to the Church of Our
Lady of the Rosary, one of the earliest churches in Goa, which stands
on the top of a high bluff. Legend has it that Albuquerque surveyed
the attack on the Muslim city from this point and vowed to build
a church here to thank for his victory.
The church, which has been beautifully restored, is Manueline in
style, and refreshingly simple in design. Occupying a dramatic position,
with excellent views of the Mandovi River and Divar Island, opposite,
it is well worth a visit, although unfortunately it is frequently
locked. On the outside of the church the only sign of ornament is
some simple rope twist devices, which bear testimony to Portugal's
reliance on seafaring. Inside, the reredos is wonderfully plain
after all the gold of those larger churches below and the roof consists
simply of a layer of tiles. In front of the altar, set into the
floor, is the tombstone of one of the Governors, Garcia de Sa, and
set into the northern wall of the chancel is that of his wife Caterina
a Piro, who was the First Portuguese woman to arrive in Goa. According
to legend they were married as she lay dying, by St Francis Xavier
himself.
Chapel of St Anthony
Opposite the ruins of the Church of St Augustine is the Chapel
of St Anthony, which is now in use as part of a convent. The chapel,
dedicated to the patron saint of the Portuguese army and navy, was
one of the earliest to be built in Goa. It was built on the directions
of Albuquerque, in order to celebrate the assault on the city. Like
the other institutions around it, it was abandoned in 1835, but
was brought back into use at the end of the century. The last Portuguese
governor had the chapel rebuilt in 1961, shortly before the Portuguese
left.
Viceroy's Arch
Perhaps the best way to arrive in the city of Old Goa is in the
same way that visitors did in the city's heyday. Approaching along
the river, the first glimpse they would catch was of the busy wharf
just in front of the entrance to the city. Although the city's fortifications
were demolished to make way for new building, an archway still stands
on the road up from the dock, to symbolise entry. Vasco da Gama's
grandson, who became viceroy in 1597, erected the Viceroy's Arch.
On the side facing the river the arch (which was restored in 1954,
having collapsed) is ornamented with the deer emblem of Vasco da
Gama's coat of arms. Above that in the centre is a statue of da
Gama himself. On the side facing the city is a sculpture of a European
woman wielding a sword over an Indian, who is lying under her feel.
No prizes for guessing what the message is here. The arch originally
had a third storey with a statue of St Catherine.
If you take a moment here, it is possible to imagine something of
the layout of the old city. Standing on the ferry dock and looking
towards the archway, the main docks at which the newly arrived ships
were unloaded were to the right. The arsenal and mint were here too,
although they were dismantled for building material after the city
was abandoned. To the left, the quay led into one of the busiest market
areas in the city, and just to the left of the Viceroy's Arch as you
face it was the Muslim ruler YussufAdil Shah's palace, which was eventually
taken over as the viceroy's residence. All that remains of the palace
now is the archway, which can be seen on the left, as you approach
the entrance to the Church of St Cajetan. The road running from the
dock through the arch and into the city was known as the Rua Direita
and was lined with shops.
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