Portugal - Part V - The Road to Lisboa

After leaving the beautiful town of Monsanto I continued heading south on my way to Lisbon, the country's capital. Along the way I planned a few stops at points that I knew would be of great interest to me.

First stop was the small town of Vila Vicosa. With a population of under 10,000 there isn't really much to see or do in this sleepy hamlet but two things drew me to putting this spot on my itinerary. First was that the area is the epicenter of the country's marble industry. The pink marble quarried in this area is world famous and results in most of the buildings being constructed from it. A truly unique and interesting sight to see.

Second was the Ducal Palace (Duke's Palace). The building (pictured above) was started in 1501 and is spectacular. The residence of the Dukes of Braganca it's inhabitants eventually assumed the throne of Portugal and this palace remained a family home right up to their  deposition in 1910. Its opulence is a sight to behold.

I really didn't get to explore the Palace as I was pressed for time and had to make Lisbon by nightfall and the place I really wanted to see was the next stop on my itinerary, the beautiful walled city of Evora. What really drew me to this small city of 55,000 inhabitants was the Roman Temple dedicated to the goddess Diana. This was the first time I had encountered a Roman structure of this magnitude and it was as impressive as expected.

While the construction happening around the temple diminished its appeal somewhat the magical setting amongst this UNESCO World Heritage city definitely made this stop worthwhile for me. After leaving the temple area I strolled through the narrow cobblestone streets admiring the beautiful buildings, many dating from the middle ages. After a quick lunch on a terrazzo overlooking the city I hopped in my car and made my way out of the city in the direction of Lisbon.

After passing through the city gates I was immediately struck with the sight of a huge aqueduct. While at first I thought it was a Roman structure I later learned it was actually a 16th century construction. It was nevertheless still an impressive sight to behold as the photo as left will attest. As I had to make Lisbon by nightfall and was still a few hours away I couldn't linger for long so I hopped back in my car and was on my way.