We will serve traditional Portuguese food, with the possibility to choose between meat, fish and vegetarian options.

Tickets can be reserved upon your registration via the ExOrdo system. Please make sure to indicate there any dietary requirements.

Free shuttles buses will be offered to the dinner venue (departing at 19:30 from the conference venue; please sign up for the shuttles via the ExOrdo system). If you opt to go by yourself, please find the directions at the end of this page.

Below, you can find some further information on the history of the Convento do Beato.

A little excursion back in time....

The history of Convento do Beato dates back to the 15th century, when Queen D. Isabel was given authorisation to construct a hospice in the chapel of S. Bento for the congregation of the “frades azuis”, the “blue monks” as they were known. Before she was able to fulfil her wish, Queen D. Isabel died, leaving 8,000 gold crowns in her will for building the hospice.

In the 16th century, Frei António da Conceição set the construction of the monastery in motion. The story goes that with just seven “tostões” (small coins like farthings) which he had received in alms, he managed to get the building of the magnificent monastery underway. The reputation of this miraculous building increased and in 1602 the people made him into a saint (he was only recognised as such by the church in the 18th century), and they began to refer to him as Beato António (António the Beatified) and his magnificent creation as the Convento do Beato.

The material used for the construction of Convento do Beato, mainly Portuguese white marble with veins of red jasper, gave it not only its very special appearance but also make it very strong, as was seen at the time of the 1755 earthquake. At that time, Convento do Beato provided a shelter for the monks from the “Convento dos Lóios”, who managed to bring a number of relics of untold value with them, which they rescued from the ruins and the flames.

At the end of the 18th century, one of the wings of the monastery began to be used as the Royal Military Hospital and in 1834 the merchant João de Brito bought part of the buildings that had meanwhile been partly destroyed by a serious fire.

In this way, the monastery began to be used for industrial purposes, and a modern manufacturing plant was installed where a steam engine operated for the first time in Portugal. 15 years later in 1849, Queen D. Maria II granted authorisation for the use of the brand “Nacional” for the products made by the company, in recognition of the industrialist João de Brito.

Recognised over the years for its magnificent construction, in 1984 Convento do Beato was classified by IPPAR (the Portuguese Institute for Architectural Heritage) as a Heritage Site of Public Interest, and it was used for holding a number of events of a cultural nature.

In 1999, the Cerealis Group, a company involved in the processing of cereals, and producing pasta, flour, breakfast cereals and biscuits, acquired “Nacional”. Aware of the incalculable value of Convento do Beato both for the City of Lisbon and the country as a whole, the company brought greater dynamism to the management of the site, with improvements being carried out and raising the profile of the building nationally and internationally as a venue for holding events.

Source: http://www.conventodobeato.com/eng.html

Directions to the dinner venue

The closest metro stop to Convento do Beato is Santa Apolónia (blue line). From there, we suggest you take a taxi indicating the convent's address (~approx. 10 min. from Santa Apólonia, 4-7€) . The following busses also pass close to the convent, but take a long time: Bus 728, 781, 782, 794).

Convento do Beato
Rua do Beato 48
1950-427 Lisbon