Sé de Évora

At the highest point of Évora, beside the Roman temple, the Sé rises above the white houses of the old city. Begun in the twelfth century and finished in the fourteenth, it is the largest of Portugal’s medieval cathedrals, a granite mass of towers and spires with a Gothic interior of great solemnity.

History and character

The cathedral was built from 1186 onwards, on a site that had held the mosque of the Moorish city, and its growth follows the history of Évora — Romanesque in its body, Gothic in its cloister and chapels. Its tower rises over the city, and from its roof the visitor looks down on the Roman temple and the streets of the old town.

What to see

• The Gothic nave and its chapels of gilded altars.
• The cloister, with its arcades and tombs.
• The cathedral museum, with sacred art and vestments.
• The roof and tower terraces, with views over the city.

Visiting

The cathedral is in the historic centre of Évora, beside the Roman temple, reached on foot from the main squares. It remains an active place of worship: visits are welcome outside the hours of Mass, and access may be limited during celebrations.

Nearby

The Templo Romano stands beside the cathedral, and the Capela dos Ossos and the Museu Nacional Frei Manuel do Cenáculo are a short walk away.

Information: cm-evora.pt.

Image credit: Sé de Évora, by Norbert Nagel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.