Old Cathedral of Coimbra

The Diocese of Coimbra (Latin: Dioecesis Conimbricensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Coimbra, Portugal. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Braga.From 1472, the bishop of Coimbra held the comital title of Count of Arganil, being thus called Bishop-Count (Portuguese: Bispo-Conde).

Aeminium was the ancient name of the city of Coimbra, in Portugal. The Romans founded the civitas of Aeminium in this place at the time of Augustus, which came under the protection of nearby Conimbriga situated some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the south. The Roman city was encircled by a wall, and followed an orthogonal plan, with the cardo maximus and decumanus maximus crossing at the Forum. An aqueduct existed, the remains of which were incorporated into a latter medieval renovation. Locations for the theater and amphitheater were also proposed, but still unconfirmed by archeology. A triumphal arch is documented, but was destroyed in 1778. Also a necropolis was located to the east of the city.The Suebi razed the nearby township of Conímbriga in 468. Its inhabitants, who had meanwhile fled to Aeminium, kept the original name of their town. In modern Coimbra there are few remains from ancient Aeminium. The most important is the cryptoporticus, an underground gallery of arched corridors built in the 1st or 2nd century AD to support the forum of the city. Gaius Sevius Lupus was probably the architect. During the Middle Ages the bishop's palace, now turned into the Machado de Castro Museum, was built over the forum; the cryptoporticus is located under it. The cryptoporticus can be visited through the museum.

The University of Coimbra (UC; Portuguese: Universidade de Coimbra, pronounced [univɨɾsiˈðaðɨ ðɨ kuˈĩbɾɐ]) is a public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university is among the oldest universities in continuous operation in the world, the oldest in Portugal, and played an influential role in the development of higher education in the Portuguese-speaking world. In 2013, UNESCO declared the university a World Heritage Site, noting its architecture, unique culture and traditions, and historical role.The contemporary university is organized into eight faculties, granting bachelor's (licenciado), master's (mestre) and doctorate (doutor) degrees in nearly all major fields. It lends its name to the Coimbra Group of European research universities founded in 1985, of which it was a founding member. Enrolling over 20,000 students, more than 15% of whom are international, it is one of Portugal's most cosmopolitan universities.Coimbra's alumni over the centuries include Portugal's national poet Luís de Camões, the mathematician Pedro Nunes, many statesmen, prime ministers and presidents of Portugal, and Nobel Prize laureate António Egaz Moniz.

The National Museum Machado de Castro (Portuguese: Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro) is an art museum in Coimbra, Portugal, named after the renowned Portuguese sculptor Joaquim Machado de Castro. It first opened in 1913 and its latest renovation (2004-2012), which included the addition of a new building, was awarded the Piranesi/Prix de Rome Prize 2014.

The Biblioteca Joanina, sometimes known in English as the Joanine Library, is a Baroque library in Coimbra, Portugal, located at the heart of the University of Coimbra. The Biblioteca Joanina is regularly considered one of the most beautiful libraries in the world.The Biblioteca Joanina is named after its founder, King John V of Portugal, who began construction on the library in 1717, during the onset of the Age of Enlightenment in Europe. It is home to more than 70,000 volumes, including many priceless, historical documents and first editions. It is registered as a National Monument.

Igreja de Santiago (São Tiago Church) is a church located at Praça do Comércio in São Bartolomeu parish, Coimbra, Portugal. Built between the late 12th and early 13th centuries, it is one of the great Romanesque monuments of the city, and is classified as a National Monument. First construction began before 957, as evidenced by a document donated to Lorraine Monastery. It was rebuilt in the last decades of the twelfth century in the reign of Sancho I of Portugal. The elegant south portal probably dates to the late 12th century, and consists of several unpainted archivolts, surrounded by a vine-shaped frame, and capitals and columns with plant motifs. The four-arch portal in the front facade was built later. It capitals contain various motifs, both plant and animal, some derived from the Old Cathedral of Coimbra, and its columns are decorated with spiral-shaped geometric reliefs and plant motifs. The church interior has three naves and three chapels at its head. In the 15th century, a quadrangular chapel was added to the north side of the church, with a Gothic-style portal and a decorated chambranle. Although it has undergone several modifications over the centuries, the most radical intervention took place in the 1540s, when a second church was built over the early church to serve as the city's Mercy Church. This addition was removed in the restoration work of the first half of the twentieth century. An important mutilation of the church occurred in 1861, when the current Visconde da Luz street was widened. In this work, much of the southern apsidiole and main chapel were lost.

The Jardim da Manga, also known as Cloister of Manga, is a Renaissance architectural work with fountains, located behind the Santa Cruz Monastery in Coimbra, Portugal. It has been classified as a National Monument since 1934.The garden and its structures dates back to 1528, when it was built as the monastery's fountain. It is dominated by a building, which currently has only a central dome sitting on eight columns, with its fountain, connected to four small chapels, surrounded by small rectangular pools. These water features were inspired by Arabic architecture. The chapels contain the remains of three small altarpieces attributed to João de Ruão.

The New Cathedral of Coimbra (Portuguese: Sé Nova de Coimbra) or the Cathedral of the Holy name of Jesus is the current bishopric seat of the city of Coimbra, in Portugal. The Cathedral is located near the historical University of Coimbra in the upper part of the town (Alta de Coimbra).

The Monastery of the Holy Cross (Portuguese: Mosteiro da Santa Cruz), also known as the Church of the Holy Cross, is a National Monument in Coimbra, Portugal. Because the first two kings of Portugal are buried in the church it was granted the status of National Pantheon. Founded in 1131 outside the protecting walls of Coimbra, the Monastery of the Holy Cross was the most important monastic house during the early days of the Portuguese monarchy. Saint Theotonius founded this community of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra and served as their first prior. The monastery and church were erected between 1132 and 1223. The monastery was granted numerous papal privileges and royal grants, which allowed the accumulation of considerable wealth, at the same time as it consolidated its position on the politico-institutional and cultural scene. Its school, with its vast library, was highly respected in medieval times and was a meeting point for the intellectual and power elites. Its scriptorium was used for the consolidation of royal power by King Afonso Henriques, thus it was not considered strange that he decided to be buried there.

The Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC) is a nonprofit research institute founded in 1990, aiming to foster research in biomedicine and biotechnology and multidisciplinary graduate teaching at the University of Coimbra. CNC was the first established “Laboratório Associado” in Portugal, and it has steadily increased the scope of scientific competences over the years, with a strong focus on the exploitation of the fundamental mechanisms of ageing and brain diseases. To cope with the main expected societal impact of biomedical research a strong integrative effort was made to link the CNCs basic research achievements to the biotechnology and applied research, and to the regional economical and productive tissue. The strong partnership developed between CNC and the Clinical Faculty allows for the translation of basic knowledge into clinical applications, enhanced by partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry. As a founding partner of Biocant - Biotechnology Innovation Centre, and of the Health Cluster Portugal, CNC shows a clear commitment towards promoting technology transfer and the creation of novel biomedical and biotechnology enterprises. In parallel to fundamental and applied research, CNC is committed to the training of a new generation of researchers and clinicians. CNC established an international PhD Programme in 2002, and strongly collaborates with the MIT-Portugal PhD Program. CNC is part of the European Neuroscience Campus Network (ENC-Network) for postgraduate training, the Network of European Neuroscience Institutes (ENInet), and is also involved in the Harvard Medical School-Portugal Program in Translational Research and Information. As a research institution where the scientific challenges arise, the CNC has also the responsibility of developing and establishing strategies that foster positive attitudes towards science and scientists. The Outreach Programme developed by CNC is of utmost relevance to the dissemination of scientific information to the community, to broaden the public’s access to science, and to engage students in science studies. CNC researchers come from three faculties of the University of Coimbra: the Faculties of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Science and Technology at the University of Coimbra. It is also linked to the University Hospitals of Coimbra (HUC) and several pharmaceutical companies. As a founding partner of the biotechnology association Biocant, the CNC has shown its commitment to foster technology transfer and the creation of novel biomedical and biotechnology enterprises.

Coimbra District (Portuguese: Distrito de Coimbra, pronounced [kuˈĩbɾɐ] (listen) or [ˈkwĩbɾɐ]) is located in the Centro Region, Portugal. The district capital is the city of Coimbra.

Coimbra (, also US: , UK: , Portuguese: [kuˈĩbɾɐ] (listen) or [ˈkwĩbɾɐ]) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of 319.40 square kilometres (123.3 sq mi). The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest city of the district of Coimbra and the Centro Region. About 460,000 people live in the Região de Coimbra, comprising 19 municipalities and extending into an area of 4,336 square kilometres (1,674 sq mi). Among the many archaeological structures dating back to the Roman era, when Coimbra was the settlement of Aeminium, are its well-preserved aqueduct and cryptoporticus. Similarly, buildings from the period when Coimbra was the capital of Portugal (from 1131 to 1255) still remain. During the late Middle Ages, with its decline as the political centre of the Kingdom of Portugal, Coimbra began to evolve into a major cultural centre. This was in large part helped by the establishment of the first Portuguese university in 1290 in Lisbon and its relocation to Coimbra in 1308, making it the oldest academic institution in the Portuguese-speaking world. Apart from attracting many European and international students, the university is visited by many tourists for its monuments and history. Its historical buildings were classified as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2013: "Coimbra offers an outstanding example of an integrated university city with a specific urban typology as well as its own ceremonial and cultural traditions that have been kept alive through the ages."