Imagens de Lisboa - Interiores secretos - Igreja das Mercês

Many passengers on tram 28 notice this church from a distance, but despite its attractive façade, it’s not worth a closer look unless it’s Sunday. That’s because you’ll always find it closed, and the only chance to see it is on Sunday Mass at noon. Even so, you won’t be able to admire the true work of art that is the tiled ceiling of a hallway that’s completely unknown and out of sight. It’s one of the most original groups of tiles in the country, dating from 1714, with the vaulted ceiling completely covered in blue and white, with the theme of the Litanies of the Virgin Mary. It’s the work of Antonio de Oliveira Bernardes, one of the masters of baroque tile art.

Muitos reparam nesta igreja, vista ao longe durante um passeio no eléctrico 28, mas apesar de a fachada despertar curiosidade, não vale a pena tentar conhecer o interior a não ser que seja domingo. Encontra-se quase sempre fechada, e a única maneira de entrar é durante a missa aos domingos ao meio-dia. Mesmo assim, não poderá admirar a sua grande obra de arte, que é o revestimento azulejar da Sala da Irmandade (hoje chamada Sala de Passagem). Praticamente desconhecida e sempre escondida, contém um dos mais originais conjuntos de azulejos do país, datado de 1714. A abóbada está completamente forrada de azulejos com o tema das Litanias da Virgem, obra de António de Oliveira Bernardes, um dos mestres da arte do azulejo barroco.

Artigo - "Etudes. Cinq universités portugaises parmi les meilleures du monde"

L’université Jiao-tong de Shanghai vient de publier un classement des 500 meilleures universités du monde. L’université de Lisbonne (UL) figure en 160e position – soit la 53e au niveau de l’Union européenne.

Le Diário de Notícias cite le communiqué de l’université lisboète, fière de ce résultat, qui “traduit un moment historique de confirmation d’un grand projet d’une université centrée sur l’investigation et au service de la société”. Le journal précise que l’UL gagne en notoriété depuis la fusion, en 2013, avec l’université technique de Lisbonne. L’UL abrite 18 facultés, dispense 485 cours à 50 000 étudiants et compte 8 000 chercheurs.

Les quatre autres universités portugaises qui apparaissent dans le classement sont celles de Porto, Minho, Aveiro et Coimbra.

Courrier International - France

Astronomy picture of the day - 2016 September 24 - Heart and Soul and Double Cluster

Heart and Soul and Double Cluster 
Image Credit & Copyright: Adrien Klamerius

Explanation: This rich starfield spans almost 10 degrees across the sky toward the northern constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus. On the left, heart-shaped cosmic cloud IC 1805 and IC 1848 are popularly known as the Heart and Soul nebulae. Easy to spot on the right are star clusters NGC 869 and NGC 884 also known as h and Chi Perseii, or just the Double Cluster. Heart and Soul, with their own embedded clusters of young stars a million or so years old, are each over 200 light-years across and 6 to 7 thousand light-years away. In fact, they are part of a large, active star forming complex sprawling along the Perseus spiral arm of our Milky Way Galaxy. The Double Cluster is located at about the same distance as the Heart and Soul nebulae. Separated by only a few hundred light-years, h and Chi Perseii are physically close together, and both clusters are estimated to be about 13 million years old. Their proximity and similar stellar ages suggest both clusters are likely a product of the same star-forming region.