Evora, Portugal
We are holidaying on the Algarve in southern Portugal for a while so we decided to take a holiday whilst on holiday and travel a few hours north of Albufeira and east of Lisbon, to Evora. It’s said that to walk around Evora today is like walking around Lisbon before the 1755 earthquake.
Evora has well preserved Roman ruins, a medieval Wall, a Gothic Cathedral and Renaissance palaces. Not forgetting the Portuguese ‘Stonehenge’. So it sounds perfect for a few nights stay.
We booked into the Evora Olive Hotel, a 4 star boutique hotel within the city walls and in easy walking distance to all the sights. It’s perfect, with its polished concrete floors in the bedroom, white local marble bathrooms and huge fluffy bathtowels it’s a little bit of luxury.
Having read up about it beforehand our first visit was to St Francis Church, not for the interior (which was quite a spectacle) but to see the adjoining Chapel of Bones.
There is an inscription above the door which translates to, “We bones that are here, await yours.” The idea, allegedly, is to make you meditate about life and death.
The 17th Century monks carefully arranged skulls and bones of about 5,000 people to cover the walls and columns. It seems they didn’t do this just for fun but because the city’s graveyards were too full and they needed room to bury the newly deceased.
Inside the church was interesting as it had various niches /altars all the way up and down both sides and a huge gold main altar.
From the church we walked up to the main square, Giraldo Square. Bustling with people, with lots of cafes and shops all around and St Antonio’s Church at the top, with a fountain in front.
By that time we needed a pit stop, so a coffee and a cake called us.
From the square we went to find the Cathedral but got way laid by a wine tasting venue. By the time we left there the Cathedral was shutting for the day so we had a walk around the gardens around the Temple of Diana.
