Image Ref: IMG_0931sp The Misericordia Church of Santarem was built in the late Renaissance (1559), according to the Hall-Church style. The style of this church makes it aesthetically similar to others like the Santo Antao Church in Evora, the Se-Catherdrals of Miranda, Leiria, Portalegre and even Goa, in India. With three naves, the dome is sustained by strong Tuscan columns which were decorated with gold paintings in 1630. But in 1755, the cataclysmic earthquake that struck southern Portugal (particularly Lisbon) damaged the facade heavily. It was then decided to rebuild the facade according to the Baroque Rococo style of the epoch. According to specialists this church is an excellent example of the late renaissance and Mannerist style in terms of harmonious proportion and conjugation of classical elements, like the columns, and medieval aesthetic and perfect in terms of architecture.

Every inch of the interior of St Pauls Cathedral in Mdina was covered in gold, paintings or red satin. From Wikipedia : "St. Paul's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Mdina, in Malta. It is built on the site where governor Publius was reported to have met Saint Paul following his shipwreck off the Maltese coast. Designed by the architect Lorenzo Gafa, it was built between 1697 and 1702 to replace a ruined Norman cathedral destroyed by the 1693 earthquake on Malta. Despite this, several artifacts and edifices survived including the painting by the Calabrian artist Mattia Preti depicting the conversion of Saint Paul, a 15th century Tuscan painting of the Madonna and Child, and frescoes in the apse which illustrate Paul's shipwreck. Many of the furnishings of the cathedral, including the baptismal font and the portal, are carved out of Irish wood."