Evora, Jigsaw of Civilizations

Evora is a city east of Lisbon about 50 miles from the Spanish border. It's been called a cornucopia of cultures though it looks more like a jigsaw puzzle to me. The Romans turned this area into a giant wheat field though these days it's wine and cork trees that seem to dominate the countryside. After the Romans came the Moors and after them came the Christians, Spanish for a time, dictators, and now Evora is a UNESCO site for good reason.

The Romans arrived in 218 BCE and called it Lusitania and thrived there until they were overrun by Germanic tribes and then the Moors from North Africa in 711. The Roman temple that is still standing is thought to have been dedicated to Diana, erected in the 2nd or 3rd century CE. It was used as an armory, theatre, and slaughterhouse until its restoration in 1870. Behind it you can see the large cathedral towers. At least the cathedral wasn't built on top of the temple as in other locations especially in Rome. Everywhere you walk there are remnants of Roman walls and columns. While the aqueduct looks quite old it was actually built in the mid 16th century and people have built houses tucked into its arches.

The Evora Museum is housed in a 16th century palace once the home of bishops and governors. Evora's history is all here from the Roman times through the 16th century. Marble is a big commodity in this region so there are lots of marble elements and sculptures displayed. The arch and columns are from the 16th century and the beautiful small relief of the dancer is from the time of Augustus (1st century). Could not figure out the animal/human heads but everything around them was dated 15th century and in limestone. Interestingly when they renovated the building they found these graves that were a mixture of Muslim and Christian burials as there were distinctive symbols found in each grave. At the corner of Vasco de Gama (explorer) Street notice the Moorish style windows.

It's always good to look up as you never know what you might see like this portion of a fresco in perfect linear perspective. You also have to be looking down all the time as the streets (mostly tiny alleys) are all cobbled stone and fairly treacherous. The Renaissance fountain has a Moorish tower behind it on one side and the towers of the cathedral on the other side. The fountain dates from 1556.

Lots of churches in Evora, only entered one, Sao Francisco also dated to 15th century. It was embellished with lots of gold from Brazil during the time of the "discoveries". We were there at a time of day when the light from stained glass windows above made this beautiful light show. Next door is the Chapel of the bones.

Cappella dos Ossos created in the 17th century from the bones of 5000 monks to remind us that life is fleeting. Of course, their message is much more targeted to believers or non-believers.