EVORA (ancient Mora), a city of Portugal, capital of the province of Alemtejo, and, after Coimbra, and perhaps Thomar, the most interesting city in the country, is beauti fully situated on a fertile and elevated plain, 48 in. w.s. w. of Badajoz, and about'80 m. c. of Lisbon. It was once a place of considerable strength; but its ramparts, and the towers which flanked them, its citadel, its forts, and its watch-towers, are now in a hopelessly ruinous condition. The town itself is not well built, its streets are narrow and winding, and its houses old and badly planned. It has a cathedral, a large Gothic edifice, founded in 1186, the choir of which, rebuilt in 1721, is in the Italian style, and is richly adorned with marbles of various colors. E. has been the see of an archbishop since 1541; has an archiepiscopal library, containing upwards of 50,000 vol umes; and several pictures of great merit, attributed to Gran Vasco. It has manufac tures of ironware and leather, and a well-attended annual fair. Pop. about 12,000.
E. is a very ancient city. Quintus Sertorius took it in 80 B.C. It was also conquered
by the Moors in 712, but recovered from them in 1166. The Roman antiquities of E. are unrivaled in the peninsula. Among these, the temple of Diana, used as a slaughter house for some time previous to the year 1834, exhibits in its fine Corinthian columns admirable proportion and delicacy of sculpture. There is also an aqueduct, 1200 paces in length, erected by Quintus Sertorius; but the most beautiful Roman relic, and one of the most perfect pieces of ancient architecture in existence, is the tower which rises in the city at the extremity of the aqueduct. It is 12 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and is surrounded by eight columns of the Ionic order. Tommie pilasters decorate the second story, and the top is crowned with a hemispherical dome. It is wholly constructed of brick, and covered with cement of such a durable nature that, although this delicate structure has •existed since 70 B.C., few parts of it seem to have been impaired by time.