{"id":249045,"date":"2023-02-15T21:01:30","date_gmt":"2023-02-15T21:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yellowcabtttours.pt\/?page_id=249045"},"modified":"2026-05-31T13:53:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T12:53:55","slug":"evora","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/yellowcabtttours.pt\/es\/evora\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00c9vora"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\u00c9vora, Portugal: History, Monuments & Private Day Tours from Lisbon<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u00c9vora is the capital of the Alentejo region and the seat of \u00c9vora District, located 140 km east of Lisbon. The municipality covers 1,307 km\u00b2 with a population of approximately 53,591 (2021 census). The historic centre of \u00c9vora was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986, recognised for its exceptional concentration of monuments spanning Roman, Moorish, Gothic, Manueline, and Baroque periods within a single walled city.\u00a0<\/p>

UNESCO describes \u00c9vora as a “museum-city” \u2014 a term reflecting the density of its monuments relative to the city’s size. The historic centre has remained largely intact since the 16th century, when \u00c9vora was Portugal’s second city and a permanent residence of the Portuguese royal court.\u00a0<\/p>

Yellow Cab TT Tours operates private day tours to \u00c9vora from Lisbon. Pickup from your hotel or central Lisbon address. The drive from Lisbon takes approximately 1 hour 30 minutes via the A6 motorway.-<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t

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A Brief History of \u00c9vora<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The site of \u00c9vora has been continuously inhabited since prehistoric times. The Almendres Cromlech, a megalithic complex of 95 granite menhirs located 16 km west of the city, was constructed in multiple phases between 6000 and 4000 BC – making it one of the oldest surviving structures in the Iberian Peninsula.\u00a0<\/p>

The Romans established a permanent settlement at this site, naming it Liberalitas Iulia under Julius Caesar. Between 80 and 72 BC, the Roman general Quintus Sertorius used \u00c9vora as his headquarters during his campaign against Rome. Under the Roman Empire, the city became the capital of the region and received its most visible surviving monument: the Roman Temple, built in the 1st century AD on the main public forum of the city.\u00a0<\/p>

In approximately 712 AD, Moorish forces from North Africa captured \u00c9vora, renaming it Jabura. Moorish rule lasted 454 years. On 1 January 1166, the city was recaptured by a Portuguese military commander known as Geraldo Sem Pavor (Gerald the Fearless), who led a surprise attack on the Moorish garrison. The conquest was conducted without the direct participation of King Afonso Henriques, and Geraldo subsequently negotiated the city’s formal transfer to the Portuguese crown.\u00a0<\/p>

\u00c9vora reached its greatest political importance in the 15th century, when it became a permanent residence of the Portuguese royal court under the House of Aviz. Kings Afonso V, Jo\u00e3o II, and Manuel I held court in the city for extended periods. During this period, \u00c9vora was effectively Portugal’s second city, with a population estimated at 15,000\u201320,000. The Jesuit University of the Holy Spirit, one of the earliest universities in Portugal, was founded in \u00c9vora in 1559. It was suppressed in 1759 when the Marquis of Pombal expelled the Jesuits from Portugal, and did not reopen until 1979, as the modern University of \u00c9vora.\u00a0<\/p>

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake redirected Portugal’s rebuilding efforts toward the capital. \u00c9vora, 140 km to the northeast and less severely affected, was not rebuilt or modernised in the same manner. As a result, its 15th and 16th century urban fabric – the walls, street layout, and architecture of its golden age – survived largely intact into the 20th century. This preservation was the primary basis for UNESCO designation in 1986.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Historic Centre - \u00c9vora's UNESCO World Heritage Site<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The historic centre of \u00c9vora is enclosed by a circuit of walls with origins in the Roman period, subsequently reinforced by Moorish and medieval Portuguese construction. The walls define an area of approximately 100 hectares containing the city’s major monuments.\u00a0<\/p>

The principal square, Pra\u00e7a do Giraldo, is named after Geraldo Sem Pavor, who recaptured the city in 1166. The square is flanked by arcaded buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries. At its eastern end stands the Church of Santo Ant\u00e3o, completed in 1557. The marble fountain at the centre of the square was installed in 1570, designed by Ant\u00f3nio Francisco Rosa, at the terminus of the \u00c1gua de Prata Aqueduct.\u00a0<\/p>

The characteristic visual identity of the historic centre is defined by whitewashed buildings with azulejo tile panels and wrought-iron window grilles, a style developed in the 16th\u201318th centuries. UNESCO’s inscription criteria specifically identify the influence of \u00c9vora’s architecture on Portuguese construction in Brazil, where similar forms were adopted during the colonial period.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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What to Visit in \u00c9vora<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Roman Temple of \u00c9vora (1st Century AD)<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Roman Temple of \u00c9vora stands at the highest point of the historic centre, on the site of the original Roman forum. The temple was built in the 1st century AD and is believed to have been dedicated to Emperor Augustus, who was venerated as a deity during and after his rule. It is commonly referred to as the “Temple of Diana,” but this attribution is incorrect – a Portuguese priest mistakenly associated the temple with Diana in the 17th century, and no historical evidence supports the dedication.\u00a0<\/p>

Fourteen of the original granite Corinthian columns still stand. Each column is composed of several drums topped with carved capitals decorated with acanthus leaves. The temple survived in part because it was converted into a fortification in the 14th century, with the spaces between the columns filled with stone. From the 14th century until 1836, the structure served as a butcher’s shop – a use that, paradoxically, protected it from demolition. Restoration of its current form was completed in 1871.\u00a0<\/p>

The temple is a national monument and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t

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\u00c9vora Cathedral - S\u00e9 de \u00c9vora (1186-1746)<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Construction of the Cathedral of \u00c9vora (S\u00e9 de \u00c9vora) began in 1186 and was completed in 1204. It is one of the oldest cathedrals in Portugal and is built on the highest point of the city, directly adjacent to the Roman Temple. The original structure was built in a Romanesque style, and enlarged between 1280 and 1340 in early Gothic style, producing the building’s characteristic transitional appearance.\u00a0<\/p>

Subsequent additions include: the Gothic cloisters (14th century), the Manueline chapel of the Espor\u00e3o (early 16th century), and the main chapel, which was completely rebuilt between 1718 and 1746 under the patronage of King Jo\u00e3o V in Roman Baroque style with polychrome marble decoration.\u00a0<\/p>

The cathedral rooftop terrace is accessible to visitors and provides views over the historic centre and the surrounding Alentejo plain. The cathedral museum contains one of the most important ecclesiastical art collections in Portugal, including medieval illuminated manuscripts and 13th-century ivory statues.<\/p>

\u00a0In the 16th and 17th centuries, the cathedral was the centre of the Escola de \u00c9vora (School of \u00c9vora) of polyphony – a significant movement in Portuguese music history, producing composers whose works were performed across Europe and in Portuguese colonial territories.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t

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Chapel of Bones - Igreja de S\u00e3o Francisco (17th Century)<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Chapel of Bones (Capela dos Ossos) is located within the Church of S\u00e3o Francisco, a late-Gothic and Manueline church completed in the early 16th century. The Chapel of Bones was built in the 17th century by three Franciscan friars as a meditation space on human mortality.\u00a0<\/p>

The walls and columns of the chapel are lined with the bones and skulls of approximately 5,000 people – exhumed from the 42 monastic cemeteries that occupied land within the city during the 16th century. The decision to consolidate the remains in a single memorial space was practical as well as theological: the cemeteries occupied excessive land within the walled city, and exhumation allowed new burials to proceed.\u00a0<\/p>

The inscription above the chapel entrance reads: “N\u00f3s ossos que aqui estamos, pelos vossos esperamos” – in English: “We bones that are here, for yours we wait.” Two mummified figures are suspended within the chapel. For many years they were identified as a father and son, but a forensic investigation completed in 2019 established that they are in fact a woman and a girl.\u00a0<\/p>

The Church of S\u00e3o Francisco itself contains 18th-century painted azulejo panels and a large 16th-century cloister.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t

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Aqueduct of Silver Water - \u00c1gua de Prata (1532-1537)<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The \u00c1gua de Prata Aqueduct (Aqueduct of Silver Water) was constructed between 1532 and 1537 under the order of King Jo\u00e3o III. The architect was Francisco de Arruda. The aqueduct extends 18 km from the Barragem do Divor reservoir to the centre of \u00c9vora, reaching a maximum height of 26 metres. The name “Silver Water” refers both to the expense of the project – one of the largest royal construction projects of the era – and to the exceptional clarity of the water source.\u00a0<\/p>

The aqueduct was inaugurated in 1537 in a ceremony attended by King Jo\u00e3o III and the royal court in Pra\u00e7a do Giraldo, where a marble lion fountain was installed at the water terminus. The aqueduct remained in operation into the 20th century.\u00a0<\/p>

The most visible section of the aqueduct runs directly through the centre of the city, where the arches have been incorporated into the fabric of the urban street grid over centuries. Houses were built against and above the arches, integrating the structure into the residential neighbourhood of Bairro de Nora. The aqueduct is a Portuguese National Monument, designated in 1910.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t

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Almendres Cromlech (6000-4000 BC)<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Almendres Cromlech (Cromeleque dos Almendres) is located 16 km west of \u00c9vora in the Alentejo countryside. It is the largest known megalithic complex in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the largest in Europe. The site consists of 95 surviving granite menhirs (originally more than 100) arranged in two overlapping oval formations covering an area of 70 \u00d7 40 metres.\u00a0<\/p>

The site was constructed in three phases:\u00a0<\/p>