Évora
South of the Rio Tejo ( River Tagus), approximately two and a quarter hours from Casa Rosden, in the heart of the Alentejo region , is one of the finest towns and another UNESCO world heritage site, namely Évora. There are a number of well preserved monments and buildings, but the Roman Temple of Diana has to be the most famous, with fourteen of it’s eighteen original columns still standing.
The main square, the ‘Praço do Giraldo’ was once used as a place of execution, but now you will find it full of cafés and shops, surrounded by attractive townhouses with iron balconies. The Renaissance church ‘Igreja de Santo Antão’ stands in one corner of the square, together with a fountain built in 1571.
Évora Cathedral was originally built in 1186. The portal is a masterpiece of Gothic scupture of the 12 Apostles. The interior is stunning and has one of the longest naves found in any cathedral in the country. It measures some 70m and the large Renaissance organ, in the Cathedral, is believed to be the oldest in Europe. It is also said that the flags of Vasco da Gama’s ships were blessed here before his voyage to India.
Capela Dos Ossos - (Chapel of Bones), inside Igreja Real de São Francisco -(Church of St. Francis), Évora is definitely worth a visit if a bit creepy !! Estimated to contain the bones and skull of some 5000 skeletons, there is even a ‘hanging Corpse’
It is worth a visit to the city museum, which represents Évora’s long history, with some splendid paintings, the Jesuit University ,founded in the 1559.
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