Photo (above): Nearest the camera is the site of the church, with the former monastery to its right and its rear.
On entering the Church of Nossa Senhora da Graca (the largest church ever built in Goa), a visitor could see the grand retable (backdrop) of the high altar, with its large gilt tabernacle sheltered within an arch, through a screen of arched piers.
Vestiges of most of these piers were visible until recently; they supported a spacious choir which could have accommodated a large number of Augustinians.
The nave of the Church now lies open to the sky, under whose broken arches locals sometimes gather and talk.
Covering the vast nave was a barrel vault, whose enormous weight unfortunately hastened its collapse.
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