Insight Guides: Portugal by Insight Guides

Author:Insight Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, Portugal
Publisher: APA
Published: 2014-06-10T04:00:00+00:00

The ruins of a Roman temple – the temple of Diana – at Évora.

Lydia Evans/Apa Publications

Roman remains

The oldest sight in Évora is the Templo Romano B [map] (Temple of Diana), at the top of the lanes opposite the tourist office in Praça do Giraldo. It dates from the 2nd or 3rd century AD and is presumed to have been built as a place of imperial worship. The Corinthian columns are granite, their bases and capitals hewn from local marble. The facade and mosaic floor have disappeared completely, but the six rear columns and the four at either side are still intact. The temple was converted into a fortress during the Middle Ages, then used as a slaughterhouse until 1870, an inelegant role but one that nevertheless saved the temple from being torn down.

From a good viewpoint in the shady garden just across from the rear of the temple, you can look down over the lower town and across the plains: the tiny village of Evoramonte is just visible to the northeast. To the right of the temple is the Convento dos Lóios C [map] and the adjacent church of São João Evangelista. The convent buildings have been converted into an elegant pousada but the church is open to the public. Founded in 1485, its style is Romano-Gothic, although all but the doorway in the facade was remodelled after the 1755 earthquake. The nave has an ornate vaulted ceiling and walls lined with beautiful tiles depicting the life of St Laurence Justinian, archbishop of Venice, dated 1771 and signed by António de Oliveira Bernardes. The sacristy and wax room behind the altar contain paintings and part of the Roman wall, and beneath the nave you can see an ossuary and Moorish cistern. The church is privately owned, as is the neighbouring palace of the dukes of Cadaval, a wonderful building sometimes open for exhibitions.

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