The splendid Palace of Schools, Coimbra.

From 1544 the University of Coimbra has been situated in the Royal Palace of the Alaçova,  at the very top of the hill in the city of Coimbra. The splendid setting has enhanced the  sense of identity and tradition in this very special place of study. The vast courtyard of the university, looking towards the main entrance to what  was originally the Throne Room of the palace. The Grand Staircase leading to the Latin Way The crowning glory of this impressive site is the Joanine Library. This was built in 1724 and is a marvel of Baroque architecture. It houses 30,000 books as well as thousands of manuscripts.  The decor is highly ornate with red, green and gold everywhere. To protect the books from damage by insects, especially moths, a colony of bats is allowed to live in the library.                                 The ground floor stacks and credenzas Photo: By Trishhhh - Flickr: DSC_5156, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/ index.php?curid=17696833 The upper stacks Photo By Ernesto von Rückert [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons