Evora, Portugal
Chapel of Bones
We covered a lot of ground today. After leaving the Marble City of Extremoz, we headed to Evora which was the capital of Portugal until 1580 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was known for its fine Jesuit school, and we saw some incoming freshman taking a little bit of abuse as we strolled around.
Our tour today was around the walled town. We visited the ruins of another Roman Temple of Diana - in pretty good condition because it was used as a fortress in medieval times and later as an abattoir. We then saw the Se Cathedral, with examples of the Manueline style of building. This style is basically Romanesque, but always includes the design elements of twisted ropes, the globe and the Christian cross. The symbols recognize Portuguese dominance in the seas around the world, and of course the power of the church.
After the Cathedral , we visited the Church of Sao Francisco and its "Chapel of the Bones". The 16th century chapel was built by the Franciscans to remind people about death and its inevitability. An inscription reads in Latin "We bones lie here waiting for yours." We then enjoyed a stroll through the town's main center.
After a lunch at the local pousada, we took a drive to a wonderful megalithic site - the Alto das Pedras Talhas. This site consists of 92 menhirs - large rounded stones, erected somewhere around 5th century BC (although this is in dispute). The stones are arranged in two ellipses, one inside the other situated east-west. Like Stonehenge, this site was probably an astronomical observatory.
We left the menhirs, and made our way towards Lisbon, visiting Alberto's home town of Setubal on the way. Setubal is a fishing town (mostly for sardines) and had a great little colorful harbor. After a short stroll along the waterfront, we headed into Lisbon itself and the last phase of our trip.