Évora - Templo de Diana

The Romans conquered the place in 57 BC. BC and expanded it into a walled city. The city gained importance because it was at the intersection of several important transport routes.

During the barbarian invasions, Évora came under the rule of the Visigothic king Leovigild in 584.

In 715, the city was conquered by the Moors. During the Moorish rule (715–1165), the town slowly began to prosper again and developed into an agricultural center with a fortress and a mosque.

Évora was wrested from the Moors through an attack by Geraldo Sem Pavor ("Gerald the Fearless") in 1165. The town came under the rule of the Portuguese king Afonso I in 1166. It then flourished during the Middle Ages, especially in the 15th century.

The temple is believed to have been constructed around the first century CE in honor of Augustus. The temple was destroyed during the 5th century by invading Germanic peoples.

In 1467, King Afonso V of Portugal authorized Soeiro Mendes to remove stones from the structure for building purposes and defense. The ruins of the temple were incorporated into a tower of the Castle of Évora during the Middle Ages. The base, columns and architraves of the temple were kept embedded in the walls of the medieval building. The temple-turned-tower was used as a butcher shop from the 14th century until 1836.

The first reconstitution of the temple's appearance occurred in 1789. In 1840, Cunha Rivara obtained the right to dispose of the buildings annexed to the monument. These structures were demolished, and the first great archaeological excavation was undertaken.