2-370-847 - Samuel Magal/Sites & Photos/Heritage Images

Monastery and statue of Nuno Alvares Pereira, Monastery of Batalha, Batalha, Portugal, 2009. Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira, was a Portuguese general who had a decisive role in the 1383-1385 crisis that assured Portugal's independence from Castile. He later became a Christian mystic and was canonised by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. In 1385, King John I of Portugal vowed that if his outnumbered army defeated the Castilians at the important Battle of Aljubarrota, he would build a magnificent monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The result was the Dominican Batalha Monastery (Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitoria de Batalha), a magnificent example of medieval Portuguese architecture. Construction of the monastery, which combines late Gothic and Manueline architectural styles, began in 1386 but was not completed until c1517. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1983.