Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
dangerous to build that only prisoners on death row were employed in its construction. A
guard of honour overwatches the tomb of unknown soldiers.
Capelas Imperfeitas
The roofless Capelas Imperfeitas (Unfinished Chapels) are perhaps the most astonishing
aspect of Batalha. Only accessible from outside the abbey, the octagonal mausoleum with
its seven chapels was commissioned in 1437. However, the later Manueline additions by
the architect Mateus Fernandes overshadow everything else.
Although Fernandes' plan was never finished, the staggering ornamentation is all the
more dramatic for being open to the sky. Most striking is the 15m-high doorway, a mass
of stone-carved thistles, ivy, flowers, snails and all manner of 'scollops and twistifica-
tions', as William Beckford noted. Dom Duarte can enjoy it for all eternity: his tomb, and
that of his wife, lie opposite the door.
Batalha de Aljubarrota
BATTLEFIELD
Centro de Interpretação
(
www.fundacao-aljubarrota.pt
; admission €7; 10am-5.30pm Tue-Sun Oct-Apr, 10am-7pm May-Sep)
For Por-
tuguese people Aljubarrota conjures up a fierce sense of national pride, a 1385 battle
where they defeated an odds-on favourite Castilian force and established the foundations
for the Portuguese golden age. We thought the entry fee to the modern interpretation
centre here, 2km south of Batalha, was steep until we saw the audiovisual, a no-expenses-
spared blood-and-thunder half-hour medieval epic (available in English) that brings the
whole thing to vivid life.
The display on bones is also f ascinating - one skull still has the tip of an arrowhead in
it. The battlefield itself is freely accessible and has some English explanations, but to
really understand what went on here, you'll want the audioguide (€3) from the interpreta-
tion centre.
MUSEUM
MCCB
(Museu da Comunidade Concelhia da Batalha;
www.museubatalha.com
; Largo Goa, Rua Damão e Diu 4; admission
€2.50; 10am-1pm & 2-6pm Wed-Sun)
This modern municipal museum in the centre of town is
well worth the visit, taking you through the prehistory and history of the region, including
some well-presented Roman remains and sections on the battle of Aljubarrota and
Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitória's construction.
Sleeping & Eating
