Templo de Diana (Roman Temple)

The Templo de Diana (Temple of Diana) is a remarkably well-preserved Roman temple in the center of Évora.

The city of Évora was the headquarters of the Roman commander Quintus Sertorius in 80-72 BC, and it long remained an important Roman military center. Later it took the name Liberalitas Julia because of privileges bestowed by Julius Caesar.

This temple, which would have been one of several in the city, was built in the 2nd century AD. Although traditionally associated with the goddess Diana, there is no real evidence for this. One likely alternative is Jupiter, the Roman equivalent of Zeus.

The temple owes its survival to solid construction - it withstood the great 1755 earthquake - and its usefulness for various purposes throughout the Middle Ages. Among other functions, the temple was as an execution site during the Inquisition and a slaughterhouse until 1870.

Elevated on a stone platform, the temple retains 14 of its original granite Corinthian columns, topped by marble capitals with decorative carvings.

Next to the temple is the medieval facade of São João Evangelista and a garden with a view of the Roman aqueduct and the surrounding countryside.