Capela dos Ossos

I ended up visiting another church in the historic center of Évora. I know there are probably tens of them here in Évora alone and that is probably an understatement. What I didn’t know what that Évora is host to one of the strangest and most bizarre chapels that there is. The Capela dos Ossos is a small chapel inside the Church of Saint Francis in Évora. Most people would probably just make a beeline for the chapel and that is what I did. What is so different about this chapel. The name of the chapel already says a lot – Chapel of Bones.

The one time a monk decided to build a chapel which reminds people of their mortality. This was one of the common issues of the counter reformaation period. What better way to remind people of their mortality than building a chapel made of bones. Inside the chapel the skulls and bones of five thousand friars were used in building the chapel with the well known motto of “Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos” which basically means that the we the bones here await for yours. It was incredible and creepy to see a chapel built out of these. The walls of the chapel were lined with innumerable skulls and bones of the dead. The pillars of the chapel were similarly designed.

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