After leaving our new friends in Sintra, we pack up the road train and head east towards central Portugal and towards Spain. We heard about a few different 'chapels of bones' and were keen to see if they really are what they say they are... Guess what...
20/03 Sleepy wife still in bed long after we are supposed to be at the Chapel of Bones, but she is a good wife and she can stay there for now. Chapel of bones is only small but really is packed to the rafters with human bones! Very creepy and cool.
The Capela dos Ossos was built in the 16th century by a Franciscan monk who, in the Counter-Reformation spirit of that era, wanted to prod his fellow brothers into contemplation and transmit the message of life being transitory. This is clearly shown in the famous warning at the entrance Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos (“We, the bones that are here, await yours.").
20/03 Sleepy wife still in bed long after we are supposed to be at the Chapel of Bones, but she is a good wife and she can stay there for now. Chapel of bones is only small but really is packed to the rafters with human bones! Very creepy and cool.
The Capela dos Ossos was built in the 16th century by a Franciscan monk who, in the Counter-Reformation spirit of that era, wanted to prod his fellow brothers into contemplation and transmit the message of life being transitory. This is clearly shown in the famous warning at the entrance Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos (“We, the bones that are here, await yours.").
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| The entrance to the chapel of bones, Evora. |
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| More bones... |
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| We think the remains of a small child...
The lugubrious chapel is formed by three spans 18.7 meters long and 11 meters wide. Light enters through three small openings on the left. Its walls and eight pillars are decorated in carefully arranged bones and skulls held together by cement. The ceiling is made of white painted brick and is painted with death motifs. The number of skeletons of monks was calculated to be about 5000, coming from the cemeteries that were situated inside several dozen churches. Some of these skulls have been scribbled with graffiti. Two desiccated corpses, one of which is a child, dangle from a chain. And at the roof of chapel, the phrase "Melior est die mortis die nativitatis (Better is the day of death than the day of birth)" (Ecclesiastes, 7, 1) from Vulgate is written.
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| Quite a creepy place... |
*An 'Aire' is basically a serviced (or not) area for Motorhomes only. No tents, no caravans or other scum allowed. You're not really allowed to set up tables and chairs, BBQs, etc outside, and take all rubbish etc with you. Easy really! Some countries have limited Aires (UK = none...) but others like France & Germany have literally thousands. Makes this trip a lot cheaper, and more intimate. No neighbors and just fields, ocean, rivers or forest for views is what we dreamed of. All for free! Bliss.
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| The free 'Aire' in Monsarraz. Looking over the border into Spain. |
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| Cobbled streets of Monsarraz |
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| Cracking day for a stroll! |
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| The old bullring. On a cliff, inside the walled village of Monsarraz. |
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| Red rag to a bull... |
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| Someone is full of bull, that's for sure! |
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