[1] Évora was definitively reconquered from Arab hands in 1166 by Geraldo Sem Pavor (Gerald the Fearless), and soon afterwards the new Christian rulers of the city began to build a cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

[citation needed] It is common belief that flags of the fleet of Vasco da Gama, on his first expedition to the Orient, were blessed in the first presbytery of the cathedral in 1497.

Its two massive towers, completed in the 16th century, flank a narthex (entrance gallery) which encloses the main portal.

Miguel Sobrino has proposed the disappeared Romanesque dome over the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela as the model.

The interior space is accentuated by the use of white mortar on the bare high walls, pillars and vaults.

In the entrance, in the first two bays, there is a Manueline high choir by architect Diogo de Arruda (early 16th century), with fine Gothic vaulting.

Near the entrance there is also an ancient organ, the oldest still active in Portugal, dated from circa 1544 and executed by Heitor Lobo.

In the middle of the central nave there is a large Baroque altar with a polychrome Gothic statue of a pregnant Virgin Mary (Nossa Senhora do O) (15th century); facing the Virgin there is a polychrome Renaissance statue of the Archangel Gabriel, attributed to Olivier of Ghent (16th century).

Although its style does not really fit into the mediaeval interior of the cathedral, the main chapel is nevertheless an elegant baroque masterpiece.

The upper storey of the cloisters, reachable via a spiral staircase, offers a grand view of the cathedral and the surrounding landscape.

Exhibits in the cathedral museum include: Some paintings in the collection are worthwhile, especially those by Gregório Lopes, Cristóvão de Figueiredo and Garcia Fernandes.