A most splendid stained glass window can be found in the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto

A most splendid stained glass window adorns the main hall of the modern complex of the Faculty of Pharmacy (FFUP) and the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), of the University of Porto. It is a coloured stained glass that was forged in 1934 and survived a fire in the grounds of the faculty, in 1975.

The stained glass window’s history is intertwined with the history of the Faculty of Pharmacy, which is now commemorating 100 years old. The Faculty of Pharmacy was established in 1921 and the stained glass was commissioned to Ricardo Leone, most famous for his rehabilitation works of the stained glass windows of the Mosteiro da Batalha. The stained glass bears the name and date of Leone’s atelier.

Following the order, the stained glass was set up in the span of the staircase of the building of the Faculty of Pharmacy, located at the Rua Aníbal Cunha (that bears the name of the leading personality that launched the pharmaceutical teaching in Portugal), where it stood until a fire almost destroyed the faculty and damaged, although not severely, the stained glass, in 1975.

The rehabilitation of the building extended until 1982 and, in 2012, the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto (FFUP) started a new cycle, with the settlement of the Faculty in a modern complex, alongside the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), located in the city centre, nearby the gardens of the Palácio de Cristal.

The damaged stained glass was restored by the Brazilian architect Clarisse Duarte da Silva, daughter of Portuguese parents, now residing in Porto de Mós, where she runs her studio “Atelier do Vidro”, devoted to the manufacturing and restoration of stained glass windows, an expertise she perfected during a three-year old programme promoted by the General-Direction of Cultural Patrimony, at the Mosteiro da Batalha.

Ricardo Leone passed away in 1971 and his atelier closed business. Many of his projects, including the one on the stained glass window of the Faculty of Pharmacy, were archived in the Mosteiro da Batalha.

The stained glass is now in place, which means it has returned to its original ‘home’ (although in a different location). It was installed in 2013 in the new complex of the FFUP and ICBAS, which had been inaugurated the previous year.

The splendid stained glass continues its (now) centennial custodian mission to inspire pharmacy students and visitors to the place. The colourful panes are surely worth a visit to admire the craft of its kaleidoscope of colours.