Four Interesting Facts About Évora

ortugal is, without a doubt, one of my absolute favorite countries. Portugal, like the other southern European countries I’ve visited, has what I would describe as a relaxed, savor the moment, and enjoy your life type of vibe. Also, as a photographer, I loved that everywhere I turned looked like a postcard.

While there, I had the opportunity to spend the morning in Évora, a charming college town about an hour and a half to two hours drive southeast from Lisbon. I had never heard of Évora before I went there, so I enjoyed learning about this city. Here are four interesting facts that I learned about Évora.

1. UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Évora is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1755 there was an earthquake in Portugal that destroyed Lisbon, but Évora remained largely intact. Because of this, a lot of the city’s heritage, including their architecture and cultural influence, was preserved and gives future generations an insight into Évora’s renaissance. Portuguese architecture has a great influence on Brazilian architecture and the preservation of Évora has aided in that being a possibility. These are two reasons why Évora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

2. The Chapel of Bones.

Évora is home to the Chapel of Bones. Built in the late 1500s, it was modeled after the San Bernadino alla Ossa in Milan, Italy. There are nearly 5,000 corpses buried there. There were many cemeteries in and around the city and in an effort to make more land available but still give their bodies a resting place, the Chapel of Bones was constructed. The bones were put on display for everyone to see. These bones were to serve as a reminder to its residents (who were largely wealthy at the time) of just how fleeting life is. To further drive home that notion is the inscription written above the entrance:

“Nós ossos que aqui estamos, pelos vossos esperamos.”

(translates to: “We bones that are here, are waiting for yours.”)

3. Leading cork producer.

More than half of the world’s cork production comes from the region of Alentejo, the region where Évora is located. This material is biodegradable and does a lot to help preserve a lot of the lands in Portugal.

4. K-drama Filming Location.

Not only is Évora is an historic location, it was also a filming location for a Korean drama! In 2018, the Korean drama, “The Third Charm” filmed a few scenes in Évora, as part of the storyline where the main character On Jun Yeong travels to Europe to find himself.

This was a really great drama by the way and you should check it out if you haven’t seen it yet.