Chapel of Bones (Évora)

Why go

The Chapel of Bones is part of the Church of São Francisco complex on Praça 1º de Maio in Évora, in the former Franciscan convent; the church is a separate record. The church's own page says the chapel was built in the 17th century to prompt reflection on the transience of human life, and that its walls and pillars are covered with several thousand bones and skulls from the convent's burial grounds. It dates the ceiling frescoes, with biblical and Passion symbols, to 1810, and says a tile panel by the architect Siza Vieira faces the exit. The church's visit page says the chapel is on a single paid ticket shared with the other museum areas, while visits to the church itself are free, and that groups and others wanting priority entry must book and pay in advance. The Municipality of Évora describes the chapel as three naves formed entirely of human bones.