If nowadays Science is produced mainly in universities and research laboratories, there were times when Monasteries were not only the places of worship but also the temples of Knowledge. Therefore, the Maltezas Monastery emerges as a privileged place for a Autumn night, where around a monastic supper, you can contact with some of the characters that shaped the way as Men faces the surrounding Universe. From the perfection of Aristotle's crystal spheres, hanging the planets of our Solar System, to the wonderful vision that current Science gives us, a long way has been travelled...
Almost 2500 years of changes that, far from being gradual, essentially represent the sudden disruptions resulted from the work and creativity of some, who we got used to call Genius.

The enormous temporal dispersion in which these leaps took place, most of the time prevented the meetings between these various scientists and the discussion of their points of view. However, during Manjares no Claustro, the imagination will allow us to overcome these "small constraints". Despite their absence from the pages of History, with the support of some scientists, it will be possible to recreate/imagine some of the moments that allow us not only to realize the way science evolve/evolves, but alto to understand which particular episodes triggered new approaches.

Tycho Brahe's and Kepler's supernovae, in 1572 and 1604, respectively, or the comets that occasionally travelled through the skies, were phenomena that, due to their character of importance, undoubtedly influenced those who witnessed them and enabled interpretation beyond the simple visual appearance. But how often does not progress resulted from technological innovations...? Without the "recent" invented telescope, many of Galileo's most influential discoveries would not have been possible.

Influenced either by mere chance or by technological progress, the evolution of Knowledge is essentially a consequence of perspectives proposed by those brave enough to challenge the dominant thought of a certain epoch.

We will never know what would have happened if Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, Newton or Einstein had met. However, during Manjares no Claustro it will be possible to understand some of their most important contributions to Science.

The Maltezas Monastery was originally a nunnery belonging to the Order of Malta.

There is some controversy about its construction. Some say it was built by the king D. Manuel I ( It was under this king that Portugal, a small country with a relatively scant population on the very edge of Christendom, became one of the most prosperous, influential and leading European powers in the world) and then it was given to one of his sons: Infant D. Luís. Others support that was the Infant himself, in order to establish a higher education college, who built the Maltezas Monastery. A goal he failed to achieve, despite the Papal Bull of Paul the Third.

Despite the building controversy, the story of the Maltezas Monastery starts in Évora, in the year of our Lord 1519. The prime mover Isabel Fernandes, along with others Sisters, settled themselves in houses of the Order of Malta. In 1530, by decree of Infant D. Luís, the nuns moved to the palace of D. Fernando de Noronha, son of the first Count of Faro, in Estremoz. This adjustment was made due to the state of ruin of the Order houses in the city of Évora. The palace was acquired with the income of the Order. The process of moving the monastic community to the village of Estremoz begun with the approval of the Council of Malta and Grand Master Filipe de Villiers de L'Isle Adam, and was confirmed by the Bull of Paul III, given at Viterbo (December 16, 1539).

The Maltezas Monastery had an initial lodging of 33 nuns and 7 conversae or lay sisters.

In 1759, the infant D. Pedro visited the convent, granting a large amount of money and subventions that allowed the building expansion. Some years later, during the administration of the Priory, the son of the King-consort, D. João, Prince of Brazil, and king to be, also furthered the Monastery (place he had visited twice in 1806). For a brief period, the Monastery was under the regular observance of St. Francis of Assisi but by request of the nuns to the Prince Regent, the community returned to its primitive religious observance.

The monastery was supressed on 31 of May 1878, with the death of the last nun, Matilda Guilhermina da Purificação. The inventory of property points to an exceptional artistic filling, evincing it was the richest monastic community in Estremoz and one of the wealthiest of the kingdom. The official inventory was only finished in the middle of November of 1878, with more than 1000 categorized assets, including a library containing 83 printed works and hundreds of handwritten books.

After the extinction of the monastery, the space became a Civil Hospital.

Since 2005 and until today the Old Monastery, and its beautiful cloisters, are the Household of a charismatic T-Rex and the House of the Centro Ciência Viva de Estremoz.