Nocturnal view of Diana's Roman Temple and the city's Cathedral
Évora is located 130 km to the East of the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. An excellent road infrastructure (which includes highways) and direct railroad connection keep traveling times between the two cities well below 2 hours.
The Workshop Venue: D. MANUEL's PALACE
The Palácio de Dom Manuel, was built in the fourteen century as a royal residence, within the St. Francis Convent complex. The Royal Palace of Évora (capital of the Portuguese region of Alentejo), is one of the symbolic buildings of the Portuguese Renaissance (incorporating the neo-Manueline and neo-Mudéjar arquitectonic styles), and was attended by courtiers, artists and navigators such as Vasco da Gama (the first navigator to reach India by Sea during the “age of discoveries”). In the course of the period of what can be called the cultural and political golden age of Évora, and ever since (as recently as the 20th century) the palace was subject to continuous renovations with the addition and modification of rooms, as testified by the seemingly infinite work of art on display.
CAR GPS Lat : 38.567757667084884; Lon:-7.909205333065756 N 38°34'3.9276015055823"; W 7°54'33.139199036721"
This museum-city, whose origin dates back to Roman times, reached its zenith in the 15th century, when it became the de facto capital of Portugal by being the residence of the king. Its uniqueness stems from the whitewashed houses decorated with glazed tiles (azulejos) and wrought-iron balconies dating from the 16th to 18th century. It is the capital of the central Alentejo region, arguably, one of the most beautiful regions of beautiful Portugal. The region has been inhabited for millennia and is home to one of Europe's largest prehistoric monuments, said to be one of humankind’s oldest, dating from about 7,000 years ago.
Alentejo is the breadbasket of Portugal, it is the home to superb wines (makes half of the country’s entire production) and is the largest producer of cork in the world.
It has a very rich cuisine with a prevailing "farm to table" philosophy.
As such, it is one of the most sought Portuguese cities by travelers.
Évora is considered World heritage by UNESCO since 1986