WORLD HERITAGE
The hillock in São Bento de Cástris...
ART HISTORIAN
...is located northwest of the city, allowing for this magnificent view.
At this time in the afternoon, everything is illuminated,
and it's just as bright as history of this city.
Cástris was named after a local prehistoric settlement.
The very first civilization era,
when the municipality of Évora and the Alentejo region
stood out due to the heritage preserved here,
was during the megalithic civilization, that is, 3,000 B.C.
Here in this region, we also find
the Great Dolmen of Zambujeiro
and the Almendres Cromlech, another megalithic religious site
of utmost importance,
with a plastic expression that attracts many visitors.
The first large urbanization of Évora dates back to the Roman Empire.
That's when the city developed
and took on characteristics that are preserved to this day.
Thus, the Medieval version of Évora passed on
the Roman legacy it had inherited.
This building from the Middle Ages remains a skyline attraction:
the Évora Church.
It is the largest medieval church built in Portugal.
Constructions started in the 1200s, going into the 1300s.
Its great-quality sculpture additions,
especially at the gates, date back to the mid-1300s.
In the early 1500s, this cathedral
received a majestic altarpiece painted by Flemish masters.
It's been recently restored
and it'll soon be exhibited once again in Évora
under proper conditions for the enjoyment of the public.
By the end of the Middle Ages, in the early 1500s,
during the Manueline era,
great palaces and large buildings were erected in Évora.
The Church of St. Francis was then restored,
since it's the second largest church
we can see from vantage points
anywhere in the city.
Under John III of Portugal,
Évora effectively became the capital
because the king resided here for many years.
That's why the University of Évora was founded in 1559.
During the 1600s and the 1700s,
more palaces and manors were built,
as well as convents and churches.
Existing churches were also remodeled,
with the addition of wall tiles
and spectacular gold-covered altars,
which turned Évora into a living museum of Portuguese art.
In the late 1700s and the early 1800s,
Évora welcomed a fundamental figure in Portuguese culture,
Dom Frei Manuel do Cenáculo, who founded the public library
and collected works of art later exhibited at the Museum of Évora.
The Roman Temple of Évora, also known as "Temple of Diana",
is one of the best-preserved temples of its kind in the Iberian Peninsula.
It was built at the north most point
of the Roman Forum located in Évora.
This forum was the city's civic center,
near the wheel of time, several public buildings,
and an indoor market.
Recent excavations unearthed
the southernmost part of the forum,
found under the Museum of Évora, where a formal episcopal palace was.
Once the Museum of Évora is fully restored, we hope
to see some relics of this forum
that was recently discovered.
As all other Roman temples, the Roman Temple of Évora
was dedicated to the worshiping of the Emperor,
since it was built in the first centuries of Christianity,
when Rome was effectively under the imperial regime.
It was surrounded by columns
and built over a podium
so it could sit higher than the surrounding buildings.
A frontal stairway allowed access to the forum.
A wall was built around the construction in the Middle Ages,
thus being preserved through the 1800s,
when it was then restored and returned to the square we see today.
Other Roman constructions are present in Évora,
and they can be seen during a simple stroll through the city.
These include ruins of a fence
built by the end of the Roman Empire
to protect the city from barbarian invasions.
There are also thermal baths located where the town hall is now.
They were discovered recently
and are in a great state of preservation.
Throughout the 1500s, Évora was the second city of Portugal.
The King lived here for several decades,
which brought many artists to town
to accompany the aristocrats who served the royal family,
as well as the high clergy that always surrounded the King.
Under these circumstances, in the mid-1500s,
when the College of the Holy Spirit was founded,
Évora became one of the biggest centers for humanistic culture
and the Portuguese Renaissance.
A great example of that time is the church you see behind me:
Church of Our Lady of Grace.
The church and the attached convent were commissioned by
Count of Vimioso's powerful family.
It was meant to be a pantheon for the noble House of Vimioso.
The tombs that were created
for some members of this family can now be seen at the Museum of Évora.
Miguel de Arruda was the architect in charge.
He comes from a dynasty of architects
who served kings John II and Manuel I,
and later John III, as well,
through the late 1500s.
This is Miguel de Arruda's experimental piece,
in which he initiated
the Renaissance style known as "Roman style" in Portugal at the time.
He collaborated with a great sculptor
who had just moved to Évora:
Nicolau de Chanterenne.
He had completed important works
such as the Jerónimos Monastery, the Wheelhouse of Coimbra,
and the Sintra Chapel.
He then came to Évora and worked on
the set of sculptures added to this building,
mostly displayed on the facade,
including the four characters
holding flaming globes
to represent grace and faith as the central themes
of the iconography used at this church,
more specifically associated with Our Lady of Grace,
among several other elements.
To the chancel, Chanterenne added some of the most delicate windows
he ever created in his life.
The University of Évora is the second oldest Portuguese university.
It was founded early in the second half of the 16th century.
Manuel I of Portugal had the intention of
instituting general studies here in the early 1500s.
However, it was only under John III,
more concretely in the early 1550s,
that Cardinal Henry, then Archbishop of Évora
and great admirer of Jesuit efforts,
delivered the School of the Holy Spirit to the Society of Jesus.
Then, in 1559, it became
the College of the Holy Spirit.
That same year, the university received these magnificent facilities,
along with a cloister for general studies,
the Great Hall for student functions,
and a set of interesting study rooms.
To this day, some rooms still have
the original lecturer pulpit.
The Great Hall shows great quality
in terms of its use of space.
It has beautiful tiles that are very rare,
as well as portraits of its founders.
This is Cardinal Henry,
whose portrait displays the blueprints for this very building.
This is Sebastian of Portugal, under whose reign
the university was established.
Three hundred years after the solemn opening in December 1559,
Marquis of Pombal ousted the Jesuits
and the university was closed.
It was only restored and reopened in the late 1900s,
when these magnificent facilities were in use once again.
This building was erected in the 1500s
by architects working in Évora at the time.
This is the main facade of the Great Hall,
which dates back to the 1700s under John V of Portugal.
It is decorated in a peculiar way,
with royalty symbols at the left
and papal symbols on the right.
These are the two authorities that approved
the establishment of this university.
"Here lay our bones, waiting for yours."
This is the inscription
read by visitors of the famous "Chapel of Bones".
It is undoubtedly the most visited monument in Évora.
Hundreds of people visit this location daily.
It is indeed a bizarre, grotesque building.
It is a strange place that stimulates the imagination of visitors.
In the late 1500s and early 1600s,
they turned an annex building
of the old Saint Francis Covent here in Évora
into a chapel dedicated to prayer and meditation,
especially meditation on death.
In other words, meditation on the final days of Men
and the human existence.
As baroque preachers used to say:
"Remember death and you shall be saved".
That is, if you think about death,
your life will be renovated
and you'll find salvation.
That was the purpose of buildings such as this one,
which are very common in the Alentejo region.
This isn't the only chapel of bones,
and others can be found in northern Alentejo and in Algarve.
The originality of this chapel lays in the presence of innumerable bones,
most of them skulls, which cover all the walls,
columns, and chapiters.
People wonder where such materials were found to erect this monument.
Since the Middle Ages, Saint Francis Convent
had been the main burial grounds in the city.
Before municipal cemeteries were created,
people were buried in religious spaces.
Therefore, Saint Francis Convent
provided the supplies so that these walls could be covered in bones.
One interesting detail:
those who visit this chapel
must go through a Medieval cloister,
the remains of the Saint Francis cloister in Évora,
one of the main cloisters of the Middle Ages in Portugal.
As we can see from these remains,
with some significant arches,
this is an invaluable piece for our artistic legacy.
Right next to it, the large Saint Francis Church is still standing.
Even though it was founded in the 1200s,
it was fully renovated in the late 1400s and early 1500s.
It is a masterpiece in Portuguese architecture and,
undoubtedly, along with the Évora Cathedral,
it is the most majestic temple in the city.
This church is worth a visit,
and shouldn't be a pass-through location into the Chapel of Bones.
In addition to its noteworthy architecture,
it houses impressive works of art, especially gilded woodcarvings.
We'll conclude our visit at the Giraldo Square,
the true heart of our Old Town selected by UNESCO.
We should have ten episodes dedicated to Évora,
because it has such an extensive, diverse heritage.
It isn't enough to have a single visit
through the set of monuments we have selected.
What you saw is representative of the historical stages of the city,
thus constituting fundamental landmarks of our heritage.
However, I must say you can only truly see Évora if you walk its streets
and visit its squares
to come upon, with each step and stone,
the history behind one of the most beautiful cities in Portugal.
Subtitles: Babel Subtitling - babelSUB.be