Ever been to Évora? – The Portugal News

OK. Cards on the table. I was about to write an entire article about ancient bones and grim stuff.

But now I’m actually here in this glorious city. NO WAY!

It’s a case of: One moment I was sitting beside the Atlantic with some grilled sardines and a cold beer, wondering how life could possibly get any better. Next, I’m well and truly inland, standing in a 16th-century chapel built extensively of human bones. Welcome to Évora.

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Ancient destination

Nestled in the heart of the Alentejo region, about ninety minutes east of Lisbon, Évora is one of Portugal’s most remarkable cities. It’s ancient, it’s beautiful, it’s astonishingly cultured and, in one particular corner, it’s just a tiny bit unsettling. Not because it’s dangerous. Quite the opposite. In fact, Évora is actually extremely elegant and rather civilised.

As soon as I set foot here, I had a good feeling about this place. Superlatives fail to do Évora even a jot of justice. Old fellows still sit in shaded squares discussing matters of supreme importance, such as “futebol” and politics. But beneath Évora’s calm exterior lies a city that has spent more than two thousand years accumulating stories. And, of course, they’re still being created.

The Romans were here: Arguably the first bunch to leave anything substantial behind. Their magnificent temple still stands proudly in the heart of the city. Often called the Temple of Diana, the structure remains one of the best-preserved Roman monuments on the whole of the Iberian Peninsula. Standing beneath its towering columns, you cannot help but feel connected to an era when men in sandals somehow managed to build an entire empire stretching all the way from Britain to North Africa. York must have seemed a very long way off when you didn’t have easyJet or WhatsApp?

Anyway, eventually, the Romans departed, and the Visigoths arrived. Then came the Moors, before the Christians reclaimed the city as well as the rest of Iberia during the Reconquista. But, we know all that stuff, don’t we?

District capital

Today, Évora remains the capital of the district that bears its name.

The wider district is classic Alentejo, with vast rolling plains stretching out towards distant horizons. Cork oak forests and endless, and I really do mean ENDLESS olive plantations dominate the sun-bleached landscape.

What about eating? Well, Alentejan cooking is fabulously uncomplicated. Bread, olive oil, garlic, pork and herbs are the cornerstones of many local dishes. The famous pork-and-clams combination sounds like a culinary argument that somehow became an uneasy marriage. But, it works. I detected a distinctly Spanish vibe in the food hereabouts. Of course, the Spanish border is only a stone’s throw away; so no great surprises there then.

Then, there are the wines.

If, say, Bordeaux is the polished businessman of the wine world; Alentejo is the cheerful farmer who turns up wearing muddy boots, but somehow manages to bring something equally impressive to the table. I’m no tedious wine connoisseur, I simply recognise the really important bit. Knowing what I actually enjoy, I really enjoy Alentejo wines. Não é complicado, meus amigos.

Chapel of Bones

Yet, despite all these wonders, there’s one place that, still draws visitors.

A Capela dos Ossos. Or, the Chapel of Bones. Sounds like a 1980s heavy metal album, doesn’t it? Located beside the Church of St. Francis, the chapel was constructed in the 16th century by Franciscan monks. Or, so I’m reliably informed – by Professor Google.

Anyway. The story goes: At the time of these monks, local cemeteries were becoming a tad overcrowded. The practical solution would have been to create larger burial grounds. But, apparently, the monks had other ideas. Why not dig up thousands of skeletons and use the bones as interior decoration? Hmmm? Lovely?

This interior decor solution is even more outlandish than some of Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s work. It’s all a bit mad until we begin to grasp the purpose. You see, the chapel was intended as a place to reflect on human mortality. Wealth, status, power and vanity eventually fizzle out, as the jolly old reaper comes a’sniffing. What a miserable old sod he is. Kings, peasants, poets, priests and even politicians are all just fodder for that pesky old bugger.

Anyway, the walls and columns of the chapel are lined with the remains of approximately 5,000 of the reaper’s grim harvest. 5,000! Skulls stare out from every surface, and femurs are stacked in geometric patterns. Yet, somehow it works.

Rather than being altogether gruesome, the chapel feels strangely contemplative. Above the entrance appears a message that has become famous throughout Portugal: “We bones that are here, await yours.” Charmed, I’m sure.

OK. This old chapel isn’t exactly what you’d expect to find in Disneyland. Yet, there’s something brutally honest about it. Modern society spends enormous amounts of time and effort pretending mortality is someone else’s problem. We pursue youth, avoid discussing “stuff,” and buy expensive anti-ageing products whose primary purpose appears to be draining our purses. Sadly, nothing works for my old face anyway; it still looks like an old chamois.

The monks of Évora seemed to possess a far simpler approach to all this mortality business. They just covered a room with skeletons and accepted that our collective fates are sealed. So, visitors often arrive expecting horror.

World Heritage Site

What they actually find is perspective, because these old bones belonged to the ordinary citizens of Évora. Merchants, craftsmen, farmers and labourers whose names have long since been forgotten. Yet, centuries later, here they are, performing one final service. They remind us not to take ourselves too seriously.

So you see, it’s kind of difficult to stay obsessed with silly things such as owning the very latest luxury SUV while standing among thousands of ancient skeletons. The Chapel of Bones certainly has a way of recalibrating priorities. Meanwhile, outside, life continues as normal. We, tourists, wander through the medieval streets; cafés are filled with conversation as hundreds of pooping swallows dart between church towers, much as they have done for centuries. Perhaps it’s that contrast that makes this city so memorable?

Évora understands something many other places seem to have forgotten. History isn’t something preserved in museums. It surrounds us every single day. It shapes our streets, our buildings and our culture. It reminds us that every generation believes itself to be terribly important, before we eventually become just another chapter in a much greater story. A beautiful story that’s told every single day.

Évora has earned its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Not because of a single monument, but because of the remarkable way that so many layers of history coexist with daily life in one remarkable location. Roman columns, medieval walls, and Renaissance churches all cohabit. And it’s great.

So, if your travels eventually bring you to the Alentejo, you really MUST make time for Évora. Walk the streets, taste the wines and just become immersed in the moment.

Yes. Perhaps spend a few quiet minutes inside the Chapel of Bones, too. You may leave feeling slightly unsettled? But, equally, you might just end up feeling a tad humbled. I know I did.