ABSTRACT
Colour was often present on the outside sculpture, as in Conques or Moissac, or spreading through the inside, as in Chauvigny or Paray-le-Monial. Unfortunately, the little traces that are documented and/or still apparent in Portugal are not enough to reach any conclusions without further research. Most Romanesque churches in France, Spain, Germany and England preserve their original lantern towers, placed over the crossing between the nave and the transept, in order to light the 'heart' of the temple, as well as the place where the High Altar stood and the Theophany took place. As in French, Spanish, Italian, German or English Romanesque, some of these monumental remnants also survive in the Kingdom of Portugal, mainly from the 12th century. Traces of original dyes or pigments wait for proper identification and treatment in several churches around the country, though there is also an enormous array of religious buildings that were never considered from the point of view of their lighting.
