“There is something immensely liberating about the Alentejo. First there is the space: the cloudless skies, undulating plains, straight roads and vast horizons. Then there is the people of the Alentejo, small in number but who share a healthy independence and disregard for authority.”
Richard Mayson (United Kingdom, 2003)
The Alentejo Region, in the South of Portugal, covers almost one third of the total area of the country. It is a Region known and valued for the richness of its land, the beauty of its landscapes, for environmental conservation (which is unique in Europe) and its vast cultural and architectural heritage.
The typical image of the Alentejo is of a vast undulating plain, dotted with small cities with whitewashed houses, each with its own Gothic Castle or Baroque Palace, reminding visitors of its feudal past. Small cities bathed by a strong and persistent sun, even in winter, and by the extraordinary brightness of a cloudless sky. The Alentejo “Monte” (the name given to the traditional houses of farmers in the Alentejo, which at the same time include all the outbuildings and installations of the farm “assento de lavoura”), an icon of the Region, stands omnipresent at the top of small hills, as if keeping an eye on the crops and the cattle.
The cork oak forest, the largest in the world, vineyards and olive groves today fill this immense space, as leading players in what is perhaps the most sustainable agriculture in Europe.
There are countless interesting tourist sites to visit. Good examples are Évora, at the heart of the Region and classed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site; the Castle of Portalegre on the hillside of the Serra de S. Mamede; the famous Alter Real horses, bred in Alter do Chão; the Vila Viçosa Palace, a legacy of the Bragança lineage that ruled Portugal for several centuries; the Anta da Serra de Ossa in Redondo; the Marvão, Estremoz, Portel and Monsaraz castles, among others, and many other sites which should not be missed, for example Arraiolos, Vidigueira, Moura, Beja, Crato, Alandroal and Castelo de Vide, as well as the whole Alentejo Atlantic coast.
