Clérigos Church and Tower
Nicolau Nasoni · Porto, Portugal · 1763
Nicolau Nasoni's Clérigos complex combines a richly modelled Baroque church with a tall tower that has become a principal point of orientation in Porto. Completed in the eighteenth century, the project responds to an irregular urban site through carefully shaped façades and a compact sequence of spaces. The tower, finished in 1763, allows the city to be read from above, while its silhouette is visible from streets throughout the historic centre. The architectural visit benefits from comparing the changing ground-level approach with the vertical route through the tower and its views across the roofscape. Visiting: Tower and museum access are ticketed. Church and worship access can differ.