.19:30 Dinner
Cloisters of Santa Cruz Monastery, Town Hall

Santa Cruz Monastery is one of the richest monuments in what concerns to history, culture and arts. Its construction – begun in 1131, where formerly were located the royal baths – was one of the first tangible examples of the recently formed kingdom of Portugal by Afonso Henriques, first king of Portugal. From the romanic construction very few is left because during the ”manuelin” period a profound alteration of its structure took place, having been rebuilt the church, the cloisters and contiguous areas.
The history of the monastery is also connected to the teaching of arts and literature in Portugal. The monastery was the elder parent of the University of Coimbra, having been a major focus of mentality progress and renaissance culture in Portugal and even in europe. Among some renowned educated men, it is worth to mention St. Anthony and Luis Vaz de Camões, the most important of all Portuguese poets.