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9. Praça do Giraldo

All roads lead to Rome, but in the case of Évora, all roads lead to Giraldo’s Square (Praça do Giraldo) and its history of bloody violence.

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Two become one

The Praça do Giraldo was constructed in the early 1570s and paid tribute to Giraldo sem Pavor (Gerald the Fearless), a famous Portuguese knight who liberated Évora from the Moors. Initially, the area was outside the city walls and served as a marketplace. Gradually, it was incorporated into the city and was surrounded by palaces and other structures. The Baroque marble fountain in the centre of the Praça is called “Fonte Henriquina”. The eight streams of water allegedly represent the eight streets leading into the square. The crown was supposedly added on the orders of King Philip II of Spain, who became ruler of Portugal following the death of the childless Henry the Chaste in 1580 (the so-called Iberian lasted until 1640 when the Duke of Braganza became King John IV of Portugal).

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The knight and the heads

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The Cid of Portugal

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Autos da fé

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Tip

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Tip

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