In the city of Evora, in the south-central Portugal

 “Any Portuguese town looks like bride’s finery – something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.” – Mary Mccarthy

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(in south-central Portugal) The city of Évora lies in a fertile valley surrounded by low hills, 70 miles (110 km) east of Lisbon. Évora (altitude 300meters) is situated in Alentejo, a large region of wide plains in the south of Portugal, bordered to the North by the Tagus River and to the South by the region of Algarve. The city which is also not far from Badajoz at the Spanish border, is the main city of the region. Originally known as Ebora, it was, from 80 to 72 BCE, the headquarters of the Roman commander Quintus Sertorius, and it long remained an important Roman military center.

Later it was called Liberalitas Julia because of certain municipal privileges bestowed upon it by Julius Caesar. About 712 Évora was conquered by the Moors, who named it Jabura, and it remained under Moorish rule until ca. 1166. In the 15th–16th century the kings of Portugal began residing regularly in Évora. The city’s bishopric, founded in the 5th century, was raised to an archbishopric in the 16th. From 1663 to 1665 it was in Spanish hands. Fought over for centuries, Évora has a coat of arms that features two severed human heads. The cathedral, originally a Romanesque building, was restored in Gothic style (ca. 1400). São Francisco Church is a good example of the blended Moorish and Gothic architecture known as Manueline; it includes a 16th-century chapel created from the bones of some 5,000 monks. The city is the seat of the University of Évora, which was originally founded in 1559 to succeed the College of the Holy Spirit (Jesuit; founded in 1551) but was suppressed in 1759; it was reconstituted in 1973 as the University Institute of Évora, which gave way to the University of Évora in 1979. An inn, the Pousada dos Lóios, is situated on the grounds of the former convent of Lóios. Just outside the inn is the small Roman Temple of Diana, which dates from the 1st–3rd century CE After 1640 the city became a center for music study (and performance in connection with the cathedral and university). The Museum of Évora includes archaeological and art exhibits. The historic center of the city, with a defensive wall dating from the Roman, Moorish, and later periods and whitewashed houses adorned with azulejos (glazed tiles), was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.

+ In 1834, Évora was the site of the surrender of the forces of King Miguel I, which marked the end of the Liberal Wars. The many monuments erected by major artists now testify to Évora's lively cultural and rich artistic and historical heritage. The variety of architectural styles (Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, Renaissance, Baroque), the palaces and the picturesque labyrinth of squares and narrow streets of the city center, are all part of the rich heritage of this museum-city, Which is one of Portugal’s most beautifully preserved medieval towns.