2005 © Oficina Virtual de Turismo
At the height of the Renaissance, Évora became dotted in monuments. Some of
them were grandiose while others were more utilitarian, but all are worthy of
note. Such as the 1556 Renaissance fountain, which was the work of Diogo de
Torralva, and was ordered by the city’s patron, Cardinal King D. Henrique. His
spherically-shaped drinking fountain was one of the main sources of water in
the old city. This fountain was built with public donations from the square’s
neighbours; one of those who took part was the city’s most renowned
topographer, André de Burgos.
The Porta de Moura Square also has other points of interest. Facing the
fountain is Cordovil house, with its manuelino-mudejar style mirador, a mixture
of the unique style of the expansion (the manueline), with the Moorish-inspired
style (the mudejar). Next to is the house that belonged to the celebrated 17th
century economist Severim de Faria, and is where the “Academy of the
Ambiences,” which was dedicated to historical and literary pursuits, was based
for a time. Between the towers that guard the old Moura Gate is the manueline
window known as Garcia de Resende, Évora’s poet and chronicler of the
Portuguese Renaissance, as well as the author of the Cancioneiro Geral,
(a compliation of all Portuguese poetic tradition from the 15th to
the 18th Centuries).
|
|