Évora

Igreja de São Francisco

Capela Dos Ossos

From Lisbon it is about an hour and a half train ride to Évora, in the heart of the Alentejo. It makes for a full day trip, leaving early in the morning and coming back on the last train of the day. 

The Temple of Diana in Évora
It is a worthwhile trip. First, for the chance to see some of the different scenery of the Alentejo and its more arid climate – including the startling site of huge storks with giant nests at the top of old chimneys…and new cell-phone towers. Stork nests are very sturdy and can be used continuously for a very long time – beyond the 20-30 year life of a bird – some lasting for centuries and used by generations of storks!
Évora also has a very well preserved Roman temple right in the middle of town. It has been called the Temple of Diana for years, because it was mistakenly thought to honor the goddess Diana. Now it is widely believed to have been a temple to the cult of the Emperor, Augustus Caesar. The reason for the relatively pristine condition of the ruins has little to do with preservation, almost the opposite. The base, columns and arch traves were incorporated into a tower of the Castle of Évora during the Middle Ages. Walled off, they were then used as a slaughterhouse from the 14thcentury until 1836 and forgotten. This new use helped preserve the remains from total destruction over the centuries.

More information on the Temple of Diana can be found here.

The highlight of my trip to Évora, however, was the Capela Dos Ossos, or Chapel of Bones, attached to the Igreja de Sao Francisco. The interior of this small chapel is decorated entirely with human bones excavate from the nearby cemetery that was overfull in the 16thcentury. The inscription above the door “We, the bones that are here await yours” is meant to remind us of the temporary nature of this life, and that we should be preparing for the next.

More information on the Capela Dos Ossos can be found here.


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