This fine, if somewhat single-minded, museum in the former Mosteiro de Jesus opposite the Catedral de São Domingos owes its finest treasures to Princesa (later canonised) Joana, daughter of Afonso V. In 1472, 11 years after the convent was founded, Joana ‘retired’ here and, though forbidden to take full vows, she stayed until her death in 1490.
Her tomb, a 17th-century masterpiece of marble mosaic, takes centre stage in an equally lavish room (actually the remodelled choir stalls). The adjacent chapel is decorated with azulejos depicting Princesa Joana’s life. The museum’s paintings include a late-15th-century portrait of her, attributed to Nuno Gonçalves.
