Beja - Convent of the Conception Convento N.S. da Conceiçao

Must-see attractions nearby: Castelo Ermida de Santo André Sé Santa Maria Praça da República

In this convent lived the nun, Mariana Alcoforado (1640-1723) who, in 1665, from her window first saw the Chevalier de Chamilly. After getting to know him through her brother she embarked on an affair that ended with Chamilly's return to France in 1667. She is supposed to have sent her lover five passionate letters that were first published in 1667. These love letters which are enshrined in international literature as the "Lettres Portugaises" (letters of a Portuguese Nun) were probably, in fact, written not by the nun but by the Frenchman Gabriel-Joseph Guillerague (1636-1715).