Purgatory

Napoli is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city in Italy. Its metropolitan area has a population of more than 3 million. Founded by Greek settlers before 900 BC, Napoli was an important part of Magna Graecia and played a major role in the merging of Greek and Roman society. Following the decline of the Western Roman Empire Napoli was shortly ruled by the Ostrogoths. Byzantine troops captured the city in 536m but after the Byzantine exarchate, Ravenna fell a Duchy of Naples was created. Over centuries the Duchy´s relations to Rome or Byzanz were hard-fought. In 836 Napoli could repel a siege of Lombard troops with the help of the Saracens, which did not prevent Muhammad I Abu 'l-Abbas in the 850s loot Napoli. In the 11th century, the Duchy hired Norman mercenaries, and in about 1140 it came under Norman control under Roger II, then King of Sicily. In 1228 Emperor Frederick II founded the first university in Europe here, making Napoli the intellectual center of the kingdom. The conflict between the House of Hohenstaufen and the Papacy led in 1266 to Pope Innocent IV crowning the Angevin duke Charles I King of Sicily. Charles officially moved the capital from Palermo to Napoli. In 1282 after the "Sicilian Vespers", a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily against the rule of King Charles I, the Kingdom of Sicily was divided into two. The Angevin Kingdom of Naples included the southern part of the Italian peninsula, while the island of Sicily became the Aragonese Kingdom of Sicily. By the 17th century, Naples had become Europe's second-largest city – second only to Paris – with around 250000 inhabitants. A glimpse on the torments of purgatory

The romanesque church, also referred to as Mosteiro de Telões, was part of a convent, but today serves as a parish church. A glimpse into purgatory

With around 200,000 inhabitants, Braga is the third largest city in Portugal. The Romans conquered the country around 140 BC. In 3 BC, they founded the Roman city of Bracara Augusta on this site and made it the capital of a judicial district. In 283, the city became the capital of the province of Gallaecia. In the course of the Migration Period, Braga became the capital of the Suebi kingdom in 411, which became Visigothic in 586. In 715, the region fell to the Moors, but the Christians succeeded in reconquering it in 868. In 908, Braga became the capital of the Kingdom of Galicia. In the 10th century, the Moors repeatedly waged war in the region. In 1112, the city became the seat of an archbishop. In the 16th century, it was redesigned in the Baroque style and partially remodelled in the 18th century with neoclassical buildings. Braga is the center of one of the oldest dioceses of the iberian peninsula, dating to the back to the Migration Period, when Martin of Dumio was able to christianize the invading Suebi tribes. The cathedral originally dates back to the 12th century, but it got greatly modified, resulting in a mix of romanesque, gothic baroquche parts. The horrors of purgatory

After the Romans had conquered the place in the Astur-Cantabrian Wars (29–19 BC) and the area became the largest mining center of the Empire during the Roman period, where gold and other metals and minerals were extracted. The Romans also imported grapevines. The modern name of the city derives from the iron reinforcements added to the ancient bridge over the river Sil, commissioned in 1082 by Bishop Osmundo of Astorga to facilitate the crossing of the Sil River to pilgrims in their way to Santiago de Compostela. In 1178, Ferdinand II of León donated the city to the Templar order for protecting the pilgrims on the Way of St. James in their road to Santiago de Compostela. The church of Santa María, built at the beginning of the 12th century, was replaced by a new building that was completed in 1670. The name “Nuestra Señora la Virgen de la Encina” goes back to the legend of the portrait of the Virgin Mary. The carving is said to have been brought from the Holy Land by Toribio, Bishop of Astorga, and then later hidden from the Moors. Centuries later, Knights Templar found it in an oak tree. The horror of the purgatory

In 1062, the village received its first town charter (Foral), which was confirmed by King Afonso Henriques after the independence of the Kingdom of Portugal (1140). In 1285, King Dinis transferred Vilariça's town privileges to Moncorvo, which from then on also became the seat of an independent district and was given fortifications. Construction of the current parish church of Torre de Moncorvo began in 1544 and was completed around a century later. In 2022, the church was elevated to the status of a basilica minor, so by now it is the Basílica de Nossa Senhora da Assunção The Purgatory

People have lived in this area since the Neolithic period, but it has been continuously inhabited since the conquest by Roman legions, who established an outpost and took over the existing castros in the area. It developed into a military centre known for its baths. The Romans built defensive walls, spanned the river with a bridge, and exploited the local mines. The importance of the town led to it being elevated to the status of a city in 79 AD, during the reign of the first Flavian Caesar, which was also reflected in its name, Aquae Flaviae. Rome's hegemony lasted until the 3rd century, when, successively, the Suebi and Visigoths as well as the Alani colonized the settlements of Chaves. The area surrendered to Islamic forces at around 714-716. The city was conquered by Alfonso I of Asturias in 773 and repopulated in 868 by Alfonso III of Asturias. Battles between Christian and Muslim forces then continued until the 11th century, when Alfonso V of León permanently reconquered Coimbra, establishing a firm buffer-zone to the south. He reconstructed, settled and encircled the settlement of Chaves with walls, in addition to establishing a Jewish quarter in the community. It was in the reign of Afonso I of Portugal that it was taken from León and firmly integrated into the Kingdom of Portugal domain (1160). Owing to its geographic location King Denis, ordered the construction of a castle to protect the kingdom's border. It is said to have been the seat of a Christian bishopric as early as the Migration Period. The existing church is said to have been partially destroyed, and the Arab occupation led to the extinction of the diocese. Documentary references to the church of Santa Maria Maior can be found in the Afonsinas Inquiries of 1259. The Romanesque church may have been built on top of another Visigothic building in the 12th century. The bell tower and portal of the medieval building remain. The purgatory

Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil is a former Benedictine monastery. The ensemble of buildings, in which three cloisters have been preserved, is now used as a Parador hotel. The first monastery probably already existed in Visigothic times. At the beginning of the 10th century, a hermit settled in the abandoned monastery and founded a new community with other hermits who had retreated to the Sil Valley. The Galician king Ordoño II granted privileges and from 921 the monastery was rebuilt and dedicated to St Stephen. The monastery's coat of arms, which depicts nine mitres, commemorates nine bishops who renounced their episcopal see in the 10th and 11th centuries and retired to the monastery of Santo Estevo. They were buried in the monastery and, as they were venerated as saints, their tombs soon attracted pilgrims. As there were frequent disputes with the local landlords among the later commendatory abbots, Pope Julius II placed the monastery under the Benedictine Congregation of Valladolid in 1506. As a result, a school of liberal arts and philosophy was established in Santo Estevo and the monastery experienced a new period of prosperity. Two more cloisters and new monastery buildings, a chapter house, a large kitchen and a dining hall as well as dormitories were built. In the 17th century, 60 monks lived there. After the disamortisation of 1835, the monastery buildings fell into disrepair and were only restored at the end of the 20th century. During renovation work in the 1950s, these murals were discovered under the whitewash.