The central Portugese town of Batalha was built to celebrate the Kingdom of Portugal’s victory over King John I of Castile’s army at the Battle (Batalha) of Aljubarrota in 1385. Things had calmed down 578 years later, although a different kind of “invasion” was happening, as in many other places we’d visit.
The town is also home to the Monastery of Saint Mary of the Victory, with its unfinished chapels — one of the most remarkable examples of Gothic and Manueline architecture in the country.
