Scientific Nous @ScientificNous - Twitter Profile

over 2 years ago

A Masonic Initiation Well - Quinta da Regaleira, celebrates Portugal's unique historical connection to the mysterious Knights Templar : This 88ft deep well is located on the land of Quinta da Regaleira, near manicured gardens and hilltop villas of Sintra, Portugal, lies the fairytale estate of Quinta da Regaleira. Quinta da Regaleira is a postcard-perfect mix of Gothic, Egyptian, Moorish and Renaissance architecture. But it’s what lies beneath the palace’s gardens that truly sets the estate’s design apart. A pair of wells, called Initiation Wells, spiral down deep within the earth, like inverted towers. The wells were never used to collect water. Instead, in fact, was never built to serve as a water resource at all. It was actually built for secret ceremonial purposes, as a part of a mysterious initiation ritual within the Knights of Templar tradition. It has a spiral staircase of 27m to the bottom. Initiation Well looks like an inverted tower. It is either a journey into depths of Mother Earth or a rise up into light. Well represents death/rebirth allegory, typical within many mystical traditions. Journey through well is like a rebirth through Mother Earth’s womb. Quinta da Regaleira has had many owners over the decades, but it was António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, one of wealthiest man in Portugal at the turn of 20th Century, who made the estate what it is today. Carvalho Monteiro had a deep interest in, and was quite possibly an initiate of – Knights Templar, a Catholic military order with roots dating to early 12th Century CE. While the group is believed to have disbanded 700 years ago, certain groups, like Freemasons, revived the medieval group’s rituals and traditions centuries later. With architect and set designer Luigi Manini, Carvalho Monteiro created a property brimming with pagan and Christian symbolism between 1904-1910. The property’s wells, located in the expansive gardens that Manini also designed, served as the starting point in Templar candidate initiation ceremonies. It is believed that Templar initiations at Quinta da Regaleira began with candidates entering one of Initiation Wells blindfolded. Holding a sword close to their heart, they would descend nine flights of stairs – a number that represents the nine founders of the Templar order. Once reaching the bottom of the well, candidate would walk into a dark labyrinth where they would symbolically and literally find their way up towards the light. If they were able to make back through the well tower and into the sunlight, initiates would walk across stones in water to reach the chapel, where they would then be welcomed into the brotherhood. While Templar initiations no longer take place at Quinta da Regaleira, visitors are welcomed trace the footsteps of candidates past, experiencing this ode to Portugal’s hidden myths and history firsthand. Now, Initiation Well in Quinta da Regaleira Park, Sintra, Portugal, under UNESCO Protection. #archaeohistories

archeohistories's tweet photo. A Masonic Initiation Well - Quinta da Regaleira, celebrates Portugal's unique historical connection to the mysterious Knights Templar :

This 88ft deep well is located on the land of Quinta da Regaleira, near manicured gardens and hilltop villas of Sintra, Portugal, lies the fairytale estate of Quinta da Regaleira. Quinta da Regaleira is a postcard-perfect mix of Gothic, Egyptian, Moorish and Renaissance architecture. But it’s what lies beneath the palace’s gardens that truly sets the estate’s design apart. A pair of wells, called Initiation Wells, spiral down deep within the earth, like inverted towers. The wells were never used to collect water. Instead, in fact, was never built to serve as a water resource at all. It was actually built for secret ceremonial purposes, as a part of a mysterious initiation ritual within the Knights of Templar tradition. It has a spiral staircase of 27m to the bottom.

Initiation Well looks like an inverted tower. It is either a journey into depths of Mother Earth or a rise up into light. Well represents death/rebirth allegory, typical within many mystical traditions. Journey through well is like a rebirth through Mother Earth’s womb.

Quinta da Regaleira has had many owners over the decades, but it was António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, one of wealthiest man in Portugal at the turn of 20th Century, who made the estate what it is today. Carvalho Monteiro had a deep interest in, and was quite possibly an initiate of – Knights Templar, a Catholic military order with roots dating to early 12th Century CE. While the group is believed to have disbanded 700 years ago, certain groups, like Freemasons, revived the medieval group’s rituals and traditions centuries later. With architect and set designer Luigi Manini, Carvalho Monteiro created a property brimming with pagan and Christian symbolism between 1904-1910. The property’s wells, located in the expansive gardens that Manini also designed, served as the starting point in Templar candidate initiation ceremonies.

It is believed that Templar initiations at Quinta da Regaleira began with candidates entering one of Initiation Wells blindfolded. Holding a sword close to their heart, they would descend nine flights of stairs – a number that represents the nine founders of the Templar order. Once reaching the bottom of the well, candidate would walk into a dark labyrinth where they would symbolically and literally find their way up towards the light. If they were able to make back through the well tower and into the sunlight, initiates would walk across stones in water to reach the chapel, where they would then be welcomed into the brotherhood. While Templar initiations no longer take place at Quinta da Regaleira, visitors are welcomed trace the footsteps of candidates past, experiencing this ode to Portugal’s hidden myths and history firsthand.

Now, Initiation Well in Quinta da Regaleira Park, Sintra, Portugal, under UNESCO Protection.

#archaeohistories

29

2K

455

250

97K

Scientific Nous

@ScientificNous

Last Seen Users on Sotwe

Trends for you

Most Popular Users