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In the twelfth century, Portugal was only one of several kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula which partly looked towards France for its cultural development, whilst at the same time maintaining its strong links with Castile and Le�n and particularly with its neighbour in the north, Galicia. This is quite obvious in its religious architecture.
Portugal's great Romanesque cathedrals in Coimbra, �vora and Lisbon generally follow the same basic plan, a slightly modified version of that of Santiago. The westblock, usually designed as a westfront with two towers, is adjoined by an aisled nave with galleries above the side-aisles and a barrel-vaulted central nave. Situated further east is the aisleless transept with a central tower and a group of three apses arranged in echelon.
The construction of the cathedral of Lisbon had begun as early as 1147, however, it was not completed until the thirteenth century. Only the nave and transept remain from the original building which, in its character of a fortified church, followed the Portuguese tradition typical of its early Romanesque style.
The massive, twin-towered fa�ade was not completed until the thirteenth century.
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