Page 256 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Portugal

10 The small village of Bisalhães, HIDDEN GEM
6 km (4 miles) to the west
Vila Real of Vila Real, is famed for its Santuário
boldly designed black pottery. de Panóias
 E2 £ @ n Av Carvalho Examples can be seen dis- The Santuário de
Araujo 94; 259 308 170
played for sale at the annual Panóias, east of Vila
Perched over a gorge cut by Festa de São Pedro, cele- Real, was ordered to be
the confluence of the Cabril brated in Vila Real each year built in the 2nd century
by a Roman senator. The
on 28–29 June. Also seen at
and Corgo rivers, Vila Real is
EXPERIENCE Douro and Trás-os-Montes convenient starting point from 11 original claim to fame – vinho
carved stones and ruins
this time is the fine linen
a busy commercial centre. As
seen today were part of
from nearby Agarez.
the communications hub of
three temples. The large
the Upper Douro, it makes a
granite boulders were
once the site of sac ri­
which to explore the valley
fices to Serapis – the
of the Douro to the south and
Greco­Egyptian god
Serra do Barroso
the Parque Natural do Alvão to
of life and death.
the northwest. Vila Real also
 E1 @ From Montalegre
has a motor-racing circuit,
or Boticas n Terreiro do
which hosts major events each
Açougue, Montalegre;
year during June and July.
276 510 205
Midway along the broad
main street, Avenida Carvalho
buried underground for up to
two years – which is why they
Araújo, is the 15th-century
Nacional da Peneda-Gerês
(p270) is the wild and remote
Sé. This fine Gothic cathedral
are called mortos (“dead”) –
was originally the church of a Just southeast of the Parque dos mortos. Bottles of wine are
Serra do Barroso. The land-
a practice that originated to
Dominican friary. The other scape of heathery hill sides hide it from the invading
monastic buildings burnt down is split by the immense enemy (p258).
in suspicious circumstances in Barragem do Alto Rabagão, The area’s principal town
the mid-19th century. the largest of many reservoirs is Montalegre, on a plateau
At the southern end of the in the area created by the to the north. Its most notable
avenue, a plaque on the wall damming of rivers for hydro- feature is the imposing keep,
at No 19 marks the birthplace electric power. Water is a 27 m (88 ft) high, of the ruined
of Diogo Cão, the explorer main stay of the local econ- 14th-century castle.
who discovered the mouth omy: a high rainfall enables Oxen are bred in the Serra,
of the Congo in 1482. farmers to eke out an exis- and inter-village chegas dos
The Igreja dos Clérigos, in tence on the poor soil, and bois (ox fights) are a popular
nearby Rua dos Combatentes the artificial lakes attract pastime. The contest is usually
da Grande Guerra, is also fishing and water sports decided within half an hour,
known as Capela Nova. It enthusiasts. The source of when the weaker ox takes
presents a pleasing Baroque one of the country’s most to its heels.
façade attributed to popular bottled mineral
Nicolau Nasoni and waters is at Carvalhelhos.
an interior of fine Nearby, the village of The bell tower of Vila
blue-and-white Boticas produces a Real’s 15th­century
azulejos. beverage with a more Gothic cathedral

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