"This museum-city, whose roots go back to Roman times, reached its golden age in the 15th century, when it became the residence of the Portuguese kings. Its unique quality stems from the whitewashed houses decorated with azulejos [glazed tiles] and wrought-iron balconies....The Historic Centre of Évora is the finest example of a city of the golden age of Portugal after the destruction of Lisbon by the 1755 earthquake." (UNESCO)