Goa, India

 

January 9, 2019

The ship docked in Marmagoa, Goa’s main port, population about 100,000. The town was first developed as a fortified settlement in 1624 by the Portuguese and remained its capital until the 18^th century plague struck and the town abandoned. The Portuguese set up the new capital in (what’s now called) Panjim, which remains the state capital.

We took a walk through the Fontainhas quarter of Panjim, a neighbourhood that could have been plucked out of the residential streets of Lisbon.  Portuguese is the main language spoken in this district today.

Fontainhas is the Latin Quarter of Panjim in Goa.  Portuguese influence is seen in its  architecture. 

 

The pale blues, yellow or green villas with projecting balconies and tile roofs in Panjim’s Fontainhas district show the influence of Goa’s Portuguese colonizers

We also visited other examples of what the Portuguese left behind: St. Catjean church, said to be modeled on St. Peter’s in Rome, and the Jesuit Basilica of Bom Jesus, which holds the embalmed body of St. Francis Xavier, founder of the Jesuit order.

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The church of St. Catjean was built in the second half of the 17th century. The intricately carved wood Baroque-style altar is dedicated to Our Lady of Providence

 

The basilica of Bom Jesus (infant Jesus) was consecrated in 1605. The church contains the remains of St. Francis Xavier, founder of the Jesuit Order

 

Next stop: Beautiful Cochin, India