Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Capela dos Ossos

The Romans conquered the place in 57 BC. BC and expanded it into a walled city. The city gained importance because it was at the intersection of several important transport routes. During the barbarian invasions, Évora came under the rule of the Visigothic king Leovigild in 584. In 715, the city was conquered by the Moors. During the Moorish rule (715–1165), the town slowly began to prosper again and developed into an agricultural center with a fortress and a mosque. Évora was wrested from the Moors through an attack by Geraldo Sem Pavor ("Gerald the Fearless") in 1165. The town came under the rule of the Portuguese king Afonso I in 1166. It then flourished during the Middle Ages, especially in the 15th century. The Igreja de São Francisco was built in Gothic-Manueline style between 1475 and 1550, replacing an earlier Romanesque church of 1226. The Igreja de São Francisco is famous for the "Capela dos Ossos" ("Chapel of Bones"). The chapel was built in the 17th century, following a model in vogue at the time, to provoke through its image reflection on the transience of human life. Both the walls and the pillars are covered with thousands of bones and skulls, from the burial spaces connected to the convent.