If you're a tourist in Portugal traveling through Alentejo, Vogue Traveller and British magazines will predictably send you to Évora, its capital.
If you relocate to Portugal, your explorations will be offered a very different tenure. The luxury of mini road trips and rides on idling trains at very fair prices will unveil the country’s secrets without the need to hurry. Living in Portugal – with reasonable housing and everyday costs – allows the spontaneity of endless explorations.
Soon you will hike along the country and its over 3,000 km of trails and natural wonders. You will be filled with joy, food tasting specialties still preserved in each region. Soon you will experience the land through all your senses while learning about its rich cultural history.
Portugal is in a wind of change capturing the timely accuracy of its natural assets.
‘We are a national and international benchmark in nature, adventure, sports, health, and wellness tourism,’ write the founders of the upcoming Palmilhar Portugal, about Portugal’s national trails that allow a unique 360º turn –‘the world's longest circular footpath in a single country.’
Let’s go ride beyond the Rio Tejo!
Coudelaria de Alter – Alto Alentejo | Courtesy of VagaMundos
Vincentina Coast, Alentejo
Alentejo: Alto | Central | Litoral | Baixo = 31,152 km² in total.
From além [beyond] and Tejo [Tagus River], Alentejo is the largest region of Portugal with over 30,000 km² of undulating fields, fertile soil, and a striking coastline. Known as the country’s breadbasket and largest olive grove, Alentejo still lives mostly from its natural resources. Its productive Quintas [farms serving as small factories] process wheat, cork, olive oil, and wine. Cork production alone accounts for over half of the world’s production.
There is no doubt your childlike spirit will be captured by the timeless freedom Alentejo conveys. Soon, you’ll be running along its medieval castles in Estremoz, Arraiolos, Montemor-o-Novo, and Marvão. You’ll rewind history at the edge of its walled cities near the Spanish border, sipping a glass of mineral vinho branco [white wine], in the shade of the main praças [squares].
In Alentejo, a large variety of wines are signed by family-owned independent productions – 86% of the region’s businesses are sole entrepreneurs. The pão [bread] from Alentejo dipped in olive oil will be served with dry cheeses bearing the names of cities: Queijo Nisa, Queijo Évora, and Queijo Serpa. A sensory bond will be felt in simplicity with agricultural communities that still today treat food with zero waste. And find fruit delicacies like nowhere else. Produced by century-old small-scale factories passed through generations, the Ameixa Rainha Cláudia is sold at Fortnum & Mason, London.
Now... In the greatest secret atlas of off-the-trail adventures, discover a masterful example of defense architecture, part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Elvas UNESCO Patrimony encloses seven components: the Historic Centre, the Amoreira Aqueduct, the Fort of Santa Luzia, and the covered way linking it to the Historic Centre, the Fort of Graça [pictured], and the Fortlets of São Mamede, São Pedro and São Domingos.
Praça da República, Elvas
Elvas, Rainha da Fronteira [Queen of the Border], is designed in the shape of an octagonal star.
The majestic garrison border town has built its historical credentials from a steady line of national protection against repeating invaders. A hidden gem in Alto Alentejo, Elvas holds genuine dignity, preserved silence, and a local lifestyle with dispersed tourism.
On the top of its hill, it exudes a sense of freedom like nowhere else.
Unlike Évora, the capital of Alentejo, manicured, innovative, and a tourist hub, the elegance of Elvas is still self-contained, wrapped in untapped history. Cities that played such historical characters are often harder to project into modern times. After all, Rome fills the Romans with pride and simultaneously crushes them under the weight of its eternal beauty.
Except, today, Elvas is scripting its legacy. Each sign proves the city is no longer waiting for others to shape its destiny. Recent innovations in sharing the wealth of its stories show signs of agency.
Museu de Arqueologia e Etnografia António Tomás Pires, Elvas.
Elvas. A shell. A star. A maze of narrow streets undisturbed by cars where dogs live large, unleashed, and nonchalant, where cats nap on tombs and hairy walls.
Circles of conquests and resistance have shaped the city from Roman times to the Moor era with its two walled medinas. Side by side with the Jewish quarters, old and new, both cultures were testimonies the trading growth of Elvas, until being pushed away. Then enters Dutch mastery in the 17th century to shape the walls apt to defend Portuguese independence. The British cemetery, one of the oldest British military cemeteries in existence, pays tribute to the British soldiers fallen at the Battle of Albuera (Spain, 1611).
At the confluence of cultures and religions, Elvas holds its title of fierce battlefield sealed in its unique geography and history. At eight kilometers from the Spanish border, 200 km east of Lisbon, the city can either be brushed off with a quick tour of its castle, aqueduct, and walls, or offered a couple of days with time to absorb its lessons in humanities and warfare.
Walks and readings capture the thoroughly philosophical aura of Elvas. When rewinding its prowess, glorious monuments, and scars, the border town builds parallels with other places, times, and geographies.
Luis Pedra, artist, music instrument collector, and business owner, says with swagger:
‘We are strong, we kept pushing the invaders out.’ And who else could pretend for a ceramic atelier in the tower of the castle, 500 meters from his cafe?
Jose Carlos Fonseca at Ameixa Museu, says reflectively: ‘Why do you think there are so many churches and monasteries in Elvas? It can only be because of the considerable human losses and sorrow. There was a lot to pray for.’
Detail of the Castle, Amoreira Aqueduct, and the walled city of Elvas.
Elvas' wall remains date back to the 10th century AD, but the garrison border town was essentially fortified when Portugal regained independence in 1640. The construction ran from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Designed by Dutch Jesuit Padre Cosmander, it is the best surviving example of the Dutch school of fortifications anywhere, and the largest bulwarked dry-ditch system in the world.
Part of the ensemble inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Amoreira Aqueduct was built in the late 16th and early 17th centuries to supply water and enable the stronghold to withstand lengthy sieges. At its feet, a cemetery covers a vast field along its 7 km long serpentine.
Elvas. Within the walled city. On the above, the pillory [pelourinho] – 16th century replicate.
In his history and culture of Moorish Portugal, Zé Eduardo Penedo writes, "In the confines of forgotten memories, the Arab presence in Portugal emerges, an enigmatic legacy entrenched in the stones worn by time and in the chronicles silenced by the course of the years. From the majestic ruins of Mértola to the red desert of Silves, from the soaring towers of Coimbra to the crumbling walls of Elvas, each city holds secrets intertwined with Arab rule."
Alike in Marvão, Moor heritage left a distinctive mark on the cultural and religious life of Elvas. The current Iglesia Santa Maria dos Mártires was once a mosque ‘where the faithful gathered to pray and study the sacred scriptures.’ Then called Lalbax, Elvas was conquered by Islamic troops in 714 during the reign of the first Portuguese king. From 1220 onwards, King D. Sancho II, the fourth king of the new Kingdom of Portugal, reconquered Elvas among other cities in Alto Alentejo. He came to the throne at 13 and died before 40.
In Al-Andaluz – the territory of the Iberian Peninsula under Islamic domination, Moor and Jewish communities lived peacefully. It was defined as the ‘Golden Age’ of Jewish culture –between 711-718 and the end of the Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031. [Source]
During the Islamic era, Elvas had an important Jewish community in two quarters; the Old Quarter next to Praça da República, and the New Quarter to the west of the Alcáçova area. The Jewish community of Elvas was one of the largest in Portugal in the Middle Ages. Portuguese Jews lived in self-governing communities called judiarias. The free practice of Judaism and Islam was recognized and guaranteed by law. [Source]
December 5, 1496. King Manuel I signed an order that forced all Jews to choose between leaving Portugal or converting. As the number of voluntary conversions was much lower than expected, the king closed all Portuguese ports, with the exception of Lisbon, to prevent the Jews from escaping. [Source: Wikipedia]
Fast forward to 2007. In the heart of the Old Jewish Quarter, the remains of what might have been a medieval synagogue were revealed through construction work. Ten years later, the edifice akin to Sephardic synagogues, with its twelve columns and a source of water, has become the House of Jewish History of Elvas (Casa da História Judaica de Elvas), a space for shared remembrance.
In the early 16th century, the town council had the Elvas synagogue converted into a butcher's shop. Its transformation by the Christians was a practice designed to desacralize the place. Painted tiles on the façade feature a prancing bull and a knight in armor. After 1884, the building was used as a scrap metal warehouse.
The Portuguese Inquisition was terminated in 1821. Nowadays, Portugal restores its Jewish legacy, and synagogues exist in Porto, Lisbon, and Belmonte... In Lisbon, a museum will soon emerge from the ground. Tikva, a space for learning, freedom, and hope.
Tikva Jewish Museum Lisbon calls for the scattered memories and stories of Judaism in Portugal, inviting people to share their “artworks, books, photographs, documents, and objects of historical or memorial value related to Portuguese Judaism, through donations and temporary loans.” The project will be built by architect Daniel Libeskind, Studio Libeskind.
The unique Royal Plums of Elvas are lavishly bathing in syrup.
The Elvas Ameixa – locally known as Abrunho, is a plum belonging to the Rainha Cláudia variety. The soil of the region, rich in potassium, and its high temperatures at ripening time have ensured years of refined production for the Ameixa to become a highly desirable and exportable delicacy. The British Crown, James Bond, and Agatha Christie showed deference to the Elvas Ameiza Rainha Cláudia, sold at Fortnum & Mason. In 1855 and 1875, Ameixa plums received a bronze medal at the Paris Exhibition, which marked the beginning of their export to the United States.
“Elvas plums are greengage plums, traditionally boiled in syrup over several weeks, then preserved in syrup and coated with sugar. The delicacy is often consumed as a Christmas treat.” – James Bond Food
Manuel J. Candeias Factory was founded in 1919. It is the last plum factory in Elvas still applying the traditional manufacturing process of the original recipe made in 16th-century convents. A family business through three generations, its small museum is where to taste the delicious plum.
There, José Carlos Fonseca speaks of the urgency to speed up Elvas into the 21st century.
A forward-thinker and father of five, José was born in Angola where he lived for 20 years. ‘All my children live and work abroad because they cannot find work in the region.’ But José is solidly anchored in Elvas and a great asset to contribute to shaking up political torpor. He speaks of the TGV [fast train] to link Lisbon to Madrid via Évora and Elvas. He sees the project as a great economic opportunity for Elvas to draft its touristic ambitions.
The recent discovery of the synagogue is an incentive to call for foreign investments and for archaeologists to dig up more evidence. The old Islamic and Jewish quarters conceal untapped archaeological treasures, and José adds, ‘There is still no evidence of where both communities have buried their ancestors.’ For José, there is no shadow of a doubt that foreign investment will be needed to lift up the place into its best self.
And real estate is there to be seized. Elegant townhouses are currently on sale, including one on the corner of Praça de la República, in the Old Jewish Quarter.
Alentejo. A way of life.
When you live in New York, Beirut, Istanbul, London, Tel Aviv, Paris, Casablanca, people, architecture, and cars occupy at least 70% of your viewpoints. In Alentejo, the protagonists are the trees, the clouds, the happily uninterrupted nature, the peaceful livestock, the millenary stones, the white Quintas lost in the land…
Once Lisbon is exhausted, run away from its crowded knots at dawn via Santa Apolónia Station. On the original one-wagon train to Elvas, the driver and controller form a kindred duo. One indicates to the other when to close the doors and take off. Curled up on the three-seat banquette as in a vintage Mercedes, with your nose glued to the window, you will have spent €20 one way to cross magical Alentejo. A rare treat.
João ends his working day in Elvas, with a family dinner in Abrantes. Reportage: dandyvagabonds.com
Alentejo's unique essence unfolds in far-stretching rural lands and micro stops. Barquinha, Almourol, Praia do Ribatejo, Santa Margarida, Tramagal, Abrantes, Bomposta, Ponte de Sôr, Torres das Vargens, Chança, Crato, Portalegre, Assumar, Arronches, Santa Eulália. Penultimate Elvas comes just before Badajoz in Spain, the terminus.
Rice fields, vineyards, and olive groves will shape a low-rise horizon line. The sky stretches as a dome, immense and undisturbed by vertical architecture. White horses and cows pepper the variations of greens with tiny dots. Cork trees wear high soccer socks. Soon the fields turn drier and bleach blond. Dreamlike. The train controller said earlier with a fatherly voice: "Do not forget to get out at the next station." Where else in the world?
Your brain declutters. Your thoughts now exist and develop one at a time. They expand in reflection without time limits or notifications. You will have read the whole chapter of a neglected book without checking your emails once.
Marvão. Tour Alto Alentejo with Vagamundos
At the outskirts of Portalegre, large stones and hills will form camel bumps akin to Amazigh territories. Frightened lambs will run away when the train passes, so fast they even escape your camera frame. Spring wildflowers have vanished in the stormy hot second weekend of June. The monochrome landscape, empty of humans and unnecessary decorum, is dignified, minimal, and meditative, recalling the elegance of Alentejo Modern Architecture.
In these natural lands of universal resonance, vagabond memories flicker in a magical kaleidoscope. Alentejo spells out the Scottish Highlands, the Afghan reg, the bare mountains of the Moroccan Atlas, the white houses of the Greek Cyclades, and in that only-child wagon, the freedom ride train departing from Kandy in Sri Lanka.
Surroundings of Elvas.
Alentejo’s sense of time speaks to Asian culture. The telluric ocean battering its coastline and its far-stretching landscape scale back humans to the size of its livestock. Both become small dots scattered like stars in its blond fields. A reminder of the human condition in its finitude and impermanence.
Stirring you out of your daydreams: How would you imagine Elvas in its possible futures?
A nuance of melancholia tints cities slightly ignored. They wear the charm of indie movies opposing blockbusters. Play Ry Cooder, the sound of Paris, Texas, and watch again The Leopard by Luchino Visconti, filmed in Palermo.
What if… Elvas embraces its millenary strength by building a knowledge center of a new kind on its walled stage. A fireplace to ignite conversations escaping compartmented proficiency. A sphere where human and social sciences could converge in studies, and ripple on their intersections, and analysis.
A center where archaeology, anthropology, neuroscience, history, geography, sociology, and economics could be exchanged beyond a national framework of studies, rather through the theme of the psychopathology of borders and nationalisms, wars, and conflicts, and what triggers these millenary frictions. Or how to reenact ethical frameworks around the right to protect a territory?
Elvas, city center.
Could Elvas, with its blend of Christian, Islamic, and Jewish communities living in its womb, serve to draw parallels with other geographies and contexts?
And ask complex questions: What have Spain and Portugal lost by excluding religious plurality? What have authoritarian regimes in Spain and Portugal lost in brain evasion?
Between 1957 and 1974, 900,000 Portuguese emigrated to France to join the Portuguese diaspora fleeing Salazar’s dictatorship –500,000 illegally. Seeking freedom from political repression and economic scarcity has been a constant repeat throughout history. [Source]
An everlasting reminder that nothing will stop people seeking security, peace, and the right to live in a country that offers both. In the country, lessons have been learned. The 2024 European elections show Portugal sitting stable, resisting the surge of far-right movements in France, Germany, or Austria.
When standing on the edge of Elvas's millenary walls overlooking two countries, the freedom felt is priceless. Elvas, strategic soil of battles and human-triggered events, holds tight to its paradoxes, and intellectual depth weaving through its reflective history.
If Portugal is a country of hope and resilience, so is Elvas. Marked by conflicts and power struggles between Christians and Muslims, the conversion of Jews, the fierce defense of its inland borders, Elvas writes its destiny around peace.
The 21st century will be a century of effective networks and synergies: commuting networks such as a TGV linking Lisbon to Madrid, new demographics ensuring foreign investment and thriving economies, co-labs in sustainable tech innovations, and GenZs co-buying new housing developments.
Source: NOVA University
Portugal welcomes a wide range of people of various provenances with a sense that opened borders paired with adequate policies have made other nations economic superpowers and contributed to retaining youth.
Invest and live in cities in Alentejo. Experience the magnetic cities of tomorrow: Evora, Elvas, Estremoz… Live music pinnacle in Marvão. Birdwatching in Porto da Espada. Wander around the bucolic mountains of Alto da Serra de São Mamede. Join in and contribute regional growth. Partake to the hyphen between two countries and its combined confluences. And actively stand by cultural diversity. Esperança, yamal, tikva are all seeds of hope.
“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops - at all…”
“Hope is things with feathers” by Emily Dickinson
Details Iglesia das Dominicas. Elvas.
Mojo Real Estate Solutions is an international team of experts helping you find your ideal property in Portugal. Based in Estrela, Lisbon, Mojo is a boutique real estate scouting and cherry picking the perfect property in your dream location, specifics, and budget. We lead the purchase process, master the renovations, and place your property for short and long-term rent, striving optimal yields for our investors via concierge services.
Call up anytime Portugal: +351.210.509.154
Our TOP properties in Alentejo: House in São Cristovão, Alentejo
Swimming Pool, Terrace, Solar Panels and 1.5 hectares of land
Price: €480,000
Massive Quinta in Montemor-O-Novo, Alentejo
Ballroom, professional kitchen, swimming pool, orchard, garage
Price: €990,000
Size: 253m2 House, 10,554m2 Land
Land for construction in Santiago do Cacém, Cercal do Alentejo
Price: €2,649,000 | Size: 1580000m2 [for eco project]
Comments