Nestling in a green valley, Batalha Monastery (meaning "battle") was built in the 15C and 16C. It is a masterpiece of Gothic and Manueline art with UNESCO World Heritage status. The building is a gigantic stone ex-voto that was erected to fulfil a promise made by the future João I to the Virgin. With its profusion of pinnacles, buttresses and bell turrets, gables and colonnettes, it houses the royal pantheon and symbolises national independence.