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The building
A modest cathedral of 1186 grew into the largest medieval one in Portugal
Évora was reconquered in 1166, and the new Christian rulers began a cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The first building, from 1186 to 1204, was very modest. The present church was built mainly between 1280 and 1340.
Vasco da Gama
Flags of Vasco da Gama's fleet were said to be blessed here in 1497
It is common belief that flags of the fleet of Vasco da Gama, on his first expedition to the Orient, were blessed in the first presbytery of the cathedral in 1497. Cardinal-King Henrique, archbishop of Évora, ruled Portugal only between 1578 and 1580.
The portal
Statues of the Apostles from the 1330s stand at the main portal
The marble columns of the ogival main portal are occupied by huge statues of the Apostles, executed in the 1330s, perhaps by the sculptors Master Pero and Telo Garcia. Free-standing Gothic sculptures like these are rather rare in Portugal.
The tower
Six turrets surround the lantern tower, each a copy of the tower
Over the crossing stands a lantern tower with a row of windows. Its spire is surrounded by six turrets, and each turret is a miniature copy of the tower itself. The main facade is built with rose granite, and each of its two towers has a different conical spire.
The organ
It holds the oldest working organ in Portugal and a school of polyphony
Near the entrance is an ancient organ from circa 1544, the oldest still active in Portugal. In the 16th and 17th centuries the cathedral was the setting of the School of Évora of polyphony, which played an important role in the music history of Portugal.
Day 1, morning
It comes after Roman Temple of Evora. Then Giraldo Square.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Cathedral of Évora, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.