Évora - Templo Romano

Temple - Roman Period (156)
The Roman temple of Évora is located at the tip of the acropolis (302m altitude), being one of the most imposing and well preserved Roman forum vestiges of the city of Liberalitas Iulia Ebora. The construction of this public building begun in the 1st-century AD, during a period of urban renewal and affirmation of the imperial power of Augustus, to whom it would be dedicated. Over time, this building underwent many changes and re-purposing, which conditioned the preservation of its constituent elements and altered its image and ambience. This monument was the target of a pioneering archaeological intervention and a wide renovation program during the 19th century. The Évora temple features a rectangular blueprint (25 x 15m), surrounded by a monumental portico and a water mirror, which enveloped the side façades. The preserved features of the whole complex include the podium (25m long, 15m wide and 3.5m high), drafted from irregular granite stonework, part of the stairway and nine whole columns, with architrave and frieze fragments on top, six of which located on the North side and 3 in the west side. These Corinthian style columns, with corrugated stems, sat on white marble bases (Estremoz), with vegetal and floral marble motifs decorating the capitals (marigolds, sunflowers, roses).

Overview

The archaeological site is part of the route "Évora Imperdível" and has information leaflets available in digital format.

Visit conditions

Free entrance

Timetables

Documents

How to get there? Best practices

Best practices

Good practices when visiting archaeological sites

To visit an archaeological site is to connect with our origins, to understand our path and evolution as a species integrated in the environment, and to respect and safeguard our heritage so that future generations can also visit and enjoy it.

Walking the paths and enjoying the structures and archaeological pieces that survived over time, fosters the understanding of what is different, but also of what is common among different populations: basically, what identifies us as Homo Sapiens.

More than just vestiges and ruins of the past, archaeological sites showcase our capacity for creative thought, adaptation, interconnection, comprehension and resilience. Without these traits we would not have been successful as cultural beings participating in an ongoing evolutionary process. These sites also allow to consider choices made in the past thus contributing for decisions in the present to be made with greater awareness and knowledge.

Archaeological sites are unique and irreplaceable. These sites are fragile resources vulnerable to changes driven by human development. The information they keep, if destroyed, can never be recovered again.

As such, the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage (DGPC) invites all visitors to enjoy the beauty and authenticity of these sites, while helping to preserve them for future generations by adopting the following set of good practices:

  • Respect all signs; 
  • Do not try to access fenced areas; 
  • Do not climb, sit or walk on archaeological structures and remains; 
  • Respect areas where archaeological excavations are being carried out, not disturbing them; 
  • Do not collect materials or sediments;
  • Do not write or make graffiti on archaeological structures; 
  • Put the garbage in appropriate containers. If none exist, take the garbage with you until you find a suitable container; 
  • Leave the archaeological site as you found it; 
  • Do not drive bicycles or motor vehicles over archaeological sites; 
  • Respect and protect the plants and animals that live in the areas surrounding archaeological sites;
  • Report signs of vandalism or destruction to DGPC or Regional Directorates of Culture (DRC);
  • Share the visiting experience and the archaeological sites, as a way of raising awareness to their preservation and making them better known;
  • Do not buy archaeological materials and report to public security authorities, DGPC or DRC, if you suspect that archaeological materials may be for sale.

Further information:

AIA / ATTA (2013) – Guide to best practices for archaeological tourism. 

Raposo, J. (2016) – Código de conduta para uma visita responsável a sítios arqueológicos. In Sítios arqueológicos portugueses revisitados: 500 arqueossítios ou conjuntos em condições de fruição pública responsável. Al-madan, 2ª série, p. 20 – 77. 

DGPC contacts

Phone: +351213614200 | Email: informacaoarqueologica@dgpc.pt

 


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