Evora. Residence of Portuguese bishops and kings.

15 December 2015 • Travel time: with 11 august 2014 on 25 august 2014

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“My white city - you are a flower made of stone, washed by good sunny rain. . . ” - Sofia Rotaru once sang about Chisinau. These words can be fully pronounced in the address of many Portuguese cities. I would like to tell you about Evora - the heart of the Portuguese province of Alentejo.

Fortified castles scattered over the hills, small medieval towns with white houses, surrounded by vineyards, olive tree plantations and cork oak groves - all this is Alentejo, the largest region located in the center of Portugal.

Evora, the largest and most beautiful city in the province, with a rich cultural and historical past, was an important center for the Romans, the Moors, became the residence of episcopals, and later the residence of the Portuguese kings, was a witness to many royal weddings.

Here, the labyrinths of narrow medieval streets are intertwined with sun-drenched squares, Gothic portals, Moorish courtyards, monasteries, cathedrals, palaces. . . The historic center of the city is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

For many centuries Evora has been the spiritual center of the country - for 41 thousand citizens there are almost 30 churches and monasteries.

On one of the days of our acquaintance with Portugal, we went to É vora by train from Lisbon's Entrecampos station. The city greeted us with dry hot air and traditionally decorated with tiles - azulejos - the station building.

Evora. Station

The first building on the way from the station to the center of É vora, which attracted our attention, looks like either a castle or a fortress - the San Bras Chapel (Ermida de Sã o Bras). This temple was erected on the initiative of King John II and Bishop of É vora D. Garcia de Menezes in 1483 in the style of the "Gothic version of Manueline-Mudé jar". As it turned out, the walls topped with battlements and conical turrets are typical of the Alentejo.

Evora. Chapel of San Bras

When we approached the entrance to the chapel, the morning service was taking place, and several people were standing on the street - the hall is small inside. But as soon as I picked up the camera, people politely parted, allowing me to take a picture.

Evora. Chapel of San Bras

And then, passing through a deserted (not counting the monument in the middle) and open to the scorching sun square, we ended up in the City Park (Jardim Pú blico).

When I studied the map of É vora while preparing for my trip to Portugal, I marked this park on the map - “it would be nice to visit it in the end”. But it turned out that it was with him that we began our acquaintance with the city.

The park was laid out on the site of an ancient palace in the XIV century Palacio de Dom Manuel (Palacio de Dom Manuel). At first, the palace served as the residence of King Afonso V, then to Kings Joao II and Manuel I. Prince Afonso and Princess Isabella were married here.

Evora. Palacio de Dom Manuel

Unfortunately, only some of the authentic elements of the palace have survived to this day, namely the Gallery of the Lady (Galeria das Damas). There is an assumption that it was in this gallery that King Manuel I appointed Vasco da Gama as commander of the Indian fleet.

Now various art exhibitions and cultural events are held here.

Walking around the palace, you come across the ruins of the castle. Unfortunately, they turned out to be fake. But what do they look like! : )

Evora. City Park

There are many cafes in the park where you can sit at a table on the terrace and watch the ducks swimming in the pond. There is a fountain in the central square of the park. It is believed that if you throw a few coins into the water, then your wish will certainly come true.

A pond with a bridge and floating ducks - I remember, but I did not pay attention to the fountain. But the scarlet benches along the paths simply enchanted with their color! : )) And also - peacocks. Lots of peacocks.

Evora. City Park

Sometimes it seemed to me that peacocks in Portugal are like crows in Ukraine. : ) We met them in the park of the Castle of St. George in Lisbon, and in the Botanical Garden near the Ajuda Palace, and now in Evora.

Near the park just up the street is the Church of Sã o Francisco (Igreja de Sã o Francisco), a Gothic cathedral built during the reign of Manuel I around 1510.

Inside, the whole church was in the woods, and to see its stunning decoration, which I read about: “the interior is striking in its beauty and variety of decoration - stone, carved wood, and tiles are used here. The altars are decorated with sculptures and paintings, including those by Flemish masters”, unfortunately, it did not work out. Only one wall was open to the public.

Evora. Church of San Francisco

That's why I found other people's pictures on the Internet:

Evora. Church of San Francisco

From the cathedral you can go to the famous Capela dos Ossos - the Chapel of Bones.

All the walls and columns inside the chapel are lined with human bones and skulls - the remains of 5.000 thousand buried citizens of the city. The inscription above the entrance to the chapel reads NOS OSSOS QVE AQVI ESTAMOS PELOS VOSSOS ESPERAMOS - "We are the bones lying here waiting for you. " So hospitable…

The history of the creation of the chapel is quite simple - wars, plague, cholera and other misfortunes. The small local cemetery could not accommodate everyone, and in case of repeated burials, the Franciscan friars dug up the previous skeletons and stored them in the church cellar. Well, when the basement overflowed, they decided to use them to build a chapel - as a symbol of the inevitability of death.

Evora. Chapel-dos-Osush

Let's go up the same street a little. Turning into the streets. . .

Evora.

We get to a small square with another cathedral. This is the monastery of Nossa Senhora da Graca (Convento de Nossa Senhora da Graca). The facade of the temple attracts attention with its unusual design - at the corners of the pediment there are sculptural globes, and under them - four figures with torches. Among the locals, these figures were nicknamed "Sons of Grasse".

Evora. Monastery of Nossa Senhora da Graç a

We arrived in Evora on Sunday. Apart from the few tourists who meet at historical monuments, the streets were deserted. It seemed that pride had died out.

Fleeing from the scorching sun, we dive under the arcade along the houses and go out to the central square of Praç a do Giraldo.

Evora.

Evora. Praç a do Giraldo

Once, during the Middle Ages, this square was the site of the execution of the Inquisition and a witness to many cruel executions. Praç a do Giraldo has survived to this day in its original form, only now it is surrounded by numerous cafes and shops. And in the middle of the square there is a marble fountain of the 16th century with eight jets of water, symbolizing the eight streets leading to the square, and a bronze crown on top.

On one side of the square is the Church of Santo Antao (Igreja de Santo Antao), built in the 16th century, and on the other side is the building of the Bank of Portugal.

Evora. Church of Santo Antan

The Church of Santo Antan in Evora was erected by the highest decree of the archbishop of the city Enrique of Portugal in 1557, who later became King Henry of Portugal.

The church is located on the site where before that there was a medieval chapel, from which a marble altar remained. The second attraction of the interior of the church is the famous painting "Souls", made of tiles.

We entered Santo Antan, there were no visitors, and just as I was about to take pictures, my eyes fell on a piece of paper pasted on a column with a warning that photography and video filming in the cathedral was paid. And at the same moment a servant of the temple came up to us and began to say something, demand and point to the door. I had to quickly retreat - as it turned out, the cathedral is open to the public at a certain time, which has already ended. The church is very beautiful, but alas, we did not have time to see it. : (

Therefore, the photo is from tyrnet.

The most famous landmark of É vora is called the Temple of Diana, or rather, the remains of the temple - the only monument of Roman rule that has survived in Portugal. Although it is called the temple of Diana, it had nothing to do with the Roman goddess of the hunt. The temple received this name much later from the legends of the seventeenth century. Most likely, the temple was erected in honor of the emperor Augustus, who was revered as a deity both during his reign and after his death.

Evora. Temple of Diana.

Evora. Temple of Diana. On the left is the facade of the Convento dos Loios monastery, on the right is the dome of the Cathedral of Ce

In the same square where the temple of Diana is located, there is the building of the late Gothic monastery of Convento dos Loios (Convento dos Ló ios). The monastery of Ló ios, also known as the monastery of St. John the Evangelist, was built in the 15th century on the remains of a medieval castle. During the earthquake of 1755, the monastery was badly damaged, and now, after restoration and restoration work, a luxurious hotel is located here.

Walking around the remains of a Roman temple and looking at the surrounding architecture, I noticed the facade of this building and tried to look inside. Immediately outside the door was something like a cash register, and then everything was hidden from prying eyes by red velvet curtains. I didn’t really want to pay to see something unknown, and on the map the building is marked as Pousada dos Ló ios, that is, the hotel. Now, when I was about to write this story, I accidentally found photos of the decor inside the monastery church on the Internet and I really regretted that I did not know about it a year ago.

And again, other people's photos from the Internet:

Next to the temple of Diana is the largest cathedral in Portugal from the Middle Ages - the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary or the Cathedral of Se. Erected in the 12th-13th centuries on the highest point of the city, it looks like a fortress, it is considered one of the most beautiful cathedrals: the portal is decorated with statues of the apostles, inside there is a luxurious main altar made of pink, black and white marble.

Evora. Se Cathedral

Here is the oldest functioning organ in Portugal from the 16th century. And in one of the towers there is the Museum of Religious Art with a collection of church objects and utensils, sacred art objects, a collection of church vestments.

According to local legend, it was in this cathedral that the flags of Vasco da Gama's caravels were consecrated before sailing to India in 1497.

Evora. Se Cathedral

And the most interesting and unexpected decoration of the cathedral is the statue of the pregnant Virgin Mary, known as the Queen of Heavenly Mothers. This statue caused controversy for a long time with its "interesting position", but in the end it was nevertheless recognized by the church.

Evora. Se Cathedral

Planning to visit Evora, I printed out a Google map with the historical center of the city, marking all the interesting objects on it. I did not notice any problems with orientation, but with this map, looking for the temple of Diana, we managed to get lost and wandered into a completely different part of the city. Either something with the projection, or with the scale of these google maps, but I already “wandered” like that a couple of times. : )

As it turned out, an almost straight small street with numerous souvenir shops and cafes rises from the central Praç a do Giraldo to the Se Cathedral. Products made of cork wood - from cup coasters to elegant handbags, multi-colored ceramics - traditional dishes with bright ornaments, copies of Portuguese and Moorish tiles, original designer products, textile products. And, of course, local wines - from the province of Alentejo, considered one of the best in Portugal.

Tearing off from my company, I wandered the narrow streets of Evora, enjoying their silence, admiring the white houses with yellow edging, in some places built into the arches of the aqueduct - another monument left over from the ancient Romans, looking at the windows of numerous shops, listening to the sounds of the city and photographed, photographed, photographed...

Evora.

Evora managed to get through to my heart and charm with her simplicity and harmony.

Translated automatically from Russian. View original