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We, the bones that are here await yours

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It's either the creepiest example of recycling ever, or a sobering reminder of how fleeting this life is. Either way, the  Capela Dos Ossos, or Chapel of Bones, in Évora is among my  favorite Portugal side trips, so far. The bones used in this chapel are those of the inhabitants of the area who were disinterred from the local cemetery to make room for newer corpses.   Beyond the somewhat macabre idea of creating a chapel from actual human bones, the place held a weird beauty, as well. The bones weren't simply stacked to make a space - the chapel is laid out meticulously in the same baroque style as the cathedrals of the day - with "decorative" columns of human bones and high arches outlined with skull and filled with bone filigree. There was something oddly peaceful about the place. The only bones that were even slightly disturbing were the complete human skeletons laid out in display in one room - a reminder that these are not simply architectural elemen...
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We found the Celtic ruins!

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With our return to northern Portugal, we were finally able to take our long-delayed trip to Guimarães. It was certainly worth the wait! (But that overview will be a different post.) In Gumarães, we stumbled across the  Museu Arqueológico da Sociedade Martins Sarmento. Housed in the former 14th century convent of São Domingos, the museum displays works of the famed archeologist, Martins Sarmento. Sarmento was known for his work on the nearby Iron Age Citânia de Briteiros and Celtic settlement of Castro de Sabrosa. He began his work at the  Citânia de Briteiros in 1875 and the museum housing his discoveries was inaugurated in 1885.  It is one of the oldest in Portugal, with a collection that includes thousands of pieces gathered from his lifetime, including many pre-Roman Celtiberian and Roman artifacts.  In addition to tiles, weapons and other tools, it showcases Celtic and Roman sculpture, gravestones and statues.  It took the sting off of the ru...
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Celtic ruins? What Celtic ruins?

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Viana do Castelo is a nice little town in northern Portugal near the Spanish border. It has what I'm told is a very nice beach, but we did not have time to take the ferry to it on the day we visited. The downtown is also nice, with tons of the types of tourist shops and restaurants that you would see at any beach town. It also has a medieval fort at the river's edge. But the real attraction is the  Santuario de Santa Luzia that sits at the top of a steep hill (accessible by a funicular.) Santa Luzia is a brand new chapel, by Portuguese standards - it was started in 1904 and completed in 1959. It sits on the site of what had been a medieval hermitage dedicated to St. Luzia - the patron saint of sight. A local cavalry captain, Luís de Andrade e Sousa, came to the hermitage to pray for help with his eyesight. When his sight improved, he instituted a fraternity to take care of the hermitage in 1884 in gratitude. The chapel (and later, a complete temple) was erected to serve...
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