constructed on the slopes, each level used to identify the ascendency and purification of the spirit. The "hall of retreat", which is further elevated than other spaces, is reached from a passage from the"hall of penitence". The church is integrated into the complex, with little indications from the exterior. Researchers have suggested that the composition of buildings and spaces was influenced by the number 8 (evident in the number of cells and stairs between rooms), which symbolized infinity. A comparable metaphor exists in the different roads/paths, which symbolized the dichotomy between good and bad roads to be taken in spiritual fulfillment. Poverty was the central notion that ruled the construction of the Convent of the Capuchos. The whole building is small. Its windows and doors are coated with cork, the traditional material of Portugal, the last being smaller than a man's height, to induce genuflection. Decoration is scarce and minimal. After visiting the convent in 1581, Philip I of Portugal said, "Of all my kingdoms, there are two places I estimate especially, El Escorial for being so rich, and the Convent of the Holy Cross for being so poor". The site is located in the rural part of Sintra, along the northeastern flank of the Sintra Mountains, approximately 325 metres above sea level, in a location marked by dense vegetation and accentuated slopes, near King Ferdinand II's hunting grounds (Tapada D. Fernando II). The convent, surrounded by a forest of oak and shrubbing species of trees, is walled into an area of rocks and exposed boulders. Along Sintra's old road connecting the village to Colares and near the Palace of Monserrate, there is a road that heads towards this religious retreat, indicated by a 17th-century marker: "CAMINHO PARA O CONVENTO DE SANTA CRUZ DA SERRA, VULGO CAPUCHOS; 1650". Access to the grounds is made by a portal (in the southeast corner of the site), or by the Terreiro das Cruzes ("Terrace of Crosses"), an irregularly walled enclosure with a calvary located in the southwest corner and visitor centre. To the left of the cross in the Terrace of Crosses is the principal entrance, or Pórtico das Fragas ("Portico of the Rocks"), with an access-way comprising two large boulders, one of which is surmounted by a bell-gable. From the walled enclosure, a small flight of stairs leads into the Terreiro do Campanário ("Terrace of the Belfry"), a small irregular patio with