Fonte dos Amores

Coimbra, (Centro Region) Portugal

I first knew about this part of Portuguese history by reading the play Corona de Amor y Muerte (Crown of Love and Death) by Alejandro Casona in my university literature class many years ago.

Pedro and Inês - a Portuguese love story

In 1340 the heir to the throne of Portugal was Prince Pedro, 20 years old at the time.  His father, King Afonso IV, had arranged his marriage to Lady Costanza, a Castillian Princess.  When she arrived Portugal for the first time to officially be his wife, Pedro actually set his eyes on one of her ladies-in-waiting, Inês de Castro, and fell madly in love with her.  They became inseparable lovers.  It created such a scandal that the King ordered his son to stop seeing Inês.  Pedro ignored his father's demand and hid Inês away in a castle away from the court.  After a while, the King exiled Inês to Spain, but even that did not keep them apart.  

Later, Princess Costanza died giving birth to a son.  Pedro sent for Inês and they lived together at Santa Clara-a-Velha in Coimbra.  It is also said that they were secretly married and had four children.  The lovers would often meet near the Quinta das Lágrimas (Manor of Tears) where the Fonte dos Amores (Fountain of Love) can be found.  His requests to be with Inês were always denied by his father.  Finally, in order for Pedro to forget his obsession with Inês, the King and his three counselors planned to kill her, so Pedro would consent to marrying a princess and ensure a peace treaty with the Kingdom of Castile.

The three counselors went and tragically cut off her head in 1355.  In 1357 Pedro became King of Portugal and immediately had Inês' murderers hunted down and killed.  Pedro refused to marry any other woman.  In 1360, Pedro announced that he had secretly married Inês in Bragança with witnesses and she was declared his legitimate wife, and therefore the lawful Queen of Portugal.  Pedro had her body exhumed and taken from the Monastery of Santa Clara in Coimbra to the Monastery of Alcobaça, where she was buried with an extraordinary ceremony.

Pedro's tomb was placed opposite Inês' (foot to foot), so that on the day of the last judgment, they would rise and look into each other's eyes, meeting once again and demonstrating that true love lasts forever.