Alentejo Tour 1 Portugal
A tour along plains of the Alentejo region of Évora. Monsaraz, Mourão, Redondo, Montemor-o-novo, Terena, Vila Viçosa, Alandroal, Evoramonte e Juromenha.
Monsaraz:
The medieval village of Monsaraz, retains its magic of yesteryear as few places in the world. Made of lime and shale, this place suspended in time, is one of the oldest settlements in Portugal and a mandatory destination in its list of places to visit in Alentejo.
A tour around Monsaraz. Xerez, Orada, Corval, Valentine Rock and the Monsaraz River Beach:
* Cromeleque do Xerez *
The Xerez's cromlech was erected between the beginning of the 4th and the mid-3rd millennium BC.
* Convento da Orada: *
Implanted in the middle of the plain, north of the town of Monsaraz and near the place of Ferragudo, the Convent of the Orada stands out for its size and whiteness in a sparsely wooded area.
* Fluvial Beach of Monsaraz: *
The Fluvial Beach of Monsaraz, situated in the Nautical Center of Monsaraz, in an inland zone far from the sea, is the first fluvial beach of the Alqueva reservoir.
* São Pedro do Corval: *
The tradition of pottery in São Pedro do Corval goes back to prehistoric times, due to the existence of deposits of clays, which have always motivated this activity.
* Menir da Rocha dos Namorados: *
It is a menir consisting of a block of natural granite, more than two meters high, which has a shape similar to that of a mushroom or a uterus.
Mourão:
Mourão is a beautiful village in the Alentejo, on the left bank of the immense Guadiana River, near the border with Spain, in a place of great natural beauty.
Redondo:
Redondo is known for its wines of undoubted quality, resulting from the best grape varieties in the region and highly appreciated by visitors. To accompany a beautiful wine, an appetizing meal of the varied gastronomy of Alentejo. The food is served in earthenware, made in this land, not only of wine but also of clay and potters.
Montemor-o-Novo:
Calm and quiet region but with an important place in national history. Here D. Manuel I decided to have the sea route discovered for India. It was also an important stage of battles with a great capacity of resistance.
Alandroal:
Alandroal is a Portuguese town in the district of Évora, which is located on a hill 341m above sea level. It is located next to Spain being limited to the north by the municipality of Vila Viçosa, to the west by the Redondo, and to the south by Reguengos and Mourão.
Alandroal was founded in 1298 by D. Lourenço Afonso, Master of Avis, and elevated to the category of town in 1486, by a letter of Foral attributed by D. João II. To the municipality of Alandroal were annexed during century XIX, the territories of the old municipalities of Terena and Juromenha. The village of Vila Real (Villareal), a village on the Alqueva river, belonging to Olivença (under the Spanish administration) was a town of the old town hall of Juromenha.
The name of Alandroal is because in this municipality grow aloendros, whose wood is used in the local crafts. Also highlighted are the works made in cork, leather and horn.
Terena:
Terena, also known as São Pedro or São Pedro de Terena, is a beautiful Alentejo village, belonging to the municipality of Alandroal, situated in a beautiful region where peace of mind reigns supreme, near the Ribeira and the Lucifécit Dam, and the border with Spain.
Vila Viçosa:
Vila Viçosa is known as the Princess of the Alentejo. Although small, it is one of the most precious and charming jewels of the Alentejo, a village-museum.
Evoramonte:
Dominating the Alentejo plain, at the top of a hill with 481 meters of altitude, there is the Castle of Evoramonte, a town that was distinguished in the history of contemporary Portugal because the Convention was signed there on May 26, 1834, reestablished Peace in Portugal, after several years of bloody civil war between liberals and absolutists.
Juromenha:
The first references to the site of Juromenha date from the second half of the ninth century. For more than two hundred years this place was considered the stronghold of defense of the zone of Badajoz, belonging from century X to Caliphate of Cordova.
Monsaraz Alentejo Portugal HD
A tour around Monsaraz. Xerez, Orada, Corval, Valentine Rock and the Monsaraz River Beach.
* Monsaraz: *
Video of the village
* Cromeleque do Xerez *
The Xerez's cromlech was erected between the beginning of the 4th and the mid-3rd millennium BC. Its unique quadrangular shape develops around a central menir of about 4m in height, which presents on one of its faces several dimples in all their verticality.
This megalithic monument consists of 50 granite menirs, of phallic form, whose height varies between 1,20m and 1,50m. Although the majority of these menhirs are partially fractured, the fact that they are prostrate in situ, allowed the eventual reconstruction of its original form.
This cromlech was the only monument in the region to be transferred in 2004 due to the construction of the Alqueva dam, next to the Convent of the Orada.
* Convento da Orada: *
Implanted in the middle of the plain, north of the town of Monsaraz and near the place of Ferragudo, the Convent of the Orada stands out for its size and whiteness in a sparsely wooded area.
The place where today stands the cross in front of the church, corresponds to the space occupied by an old hermitage founded by D. Nuno Alvares Pereira. This hermitage underwent profound changes in the late sixteenth century, having passed to the Order of Santiago by the will of the Duke of Braganza. Finally, in 1670, the temple was given to the Barefoot Augustinians who, in 1700, founded the convent, demolishing the secular hermitage.
The construction of the convent will only be completed in 1741 but, shortly after, in 1755, will suffer with the impact of the great earthquake. In 1820, on the occasion of the restructuring of the order, part of the assets of the already extinct convent of Nossa Senhora da Orada were annexed to the convent of Portalegre.
* Fluvial Beach of Monsaraz: *
The Fluvial Beach of Monsaraz, situated in the Nautical Center of Monsaraz, in an inland zone far from the sea, is the first fluvial beach of the Alqueva reservoir.
* São Pedro do Corval: *
The tradition of pottery in São Pedro do Corval goes back to prehistoric times, due to the existence of deposits of clays, which have always motivated this activity.
Through pots, potters' wheels and ovens, we find unique traditional utility pieces that carry us back to the old days when the clay was molded to the needs of the fields and the humble lives in the Alentejo.
Today we find in São Pedro do Corval true works of art, both in form and in decoration - ceramic painting - made with an ancestral knowledge and a characteristic aesthetic of the region. Together with the unique experience of being able to see the clay to be molded by the experienced hands of the master potter on his wheel and to share his knowledge and experiences, São Pedro do Corval, with more than 20 docks in constant excellence the largest center of potters in the country and one of the largest in the Iberian Peninsula.
* Menir da Rocha dos Namorados: *
It is a menir consisting of a block of natural granite, more than two meters high, which has a shape similar to that of a mushroom or a uterus.
This rock is associated with a centuries-old pagan fertility rite, which consists of: the girls of marriageable age, will consult the rock (as if it were an oracle), to know how much time remains to be married. For this purpose they shoot up the menhir, a stone. If this stone does not stand on the rock and fall to the ground, it means they have to wait another year for the wedding. This consultation with the valentine's rock was usually done on Easter Monday.
Monsaraz & Alqueva
We made a little trip to Monsaraz, located in Alentejo, a beautiful part of Portugal.
Monsaraz is just 2hrs away from Lisbon and you get the chance to see an amazing landscape, with animals and big farms.
We had lunch in a famous and typical restaurant called “Adega Velha”, where it’s peoole still perfm some amcient rituals, like the famous singing, considered a world heritage. Next stop to Mansaraz catle, with a village inside, hotels and restaurants. Enjoy the beautiful view from the top.
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