Page 310 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Portugal

17 isolated corner, evidence of
pre-Roman habitation has
Serpa been uncovered.
On the border at Barrancos,
! F6 @ n Rua dos Cavalos 76 km (47 miles) northeast of
19; 284 544 727
Serpa, an incomprehensible
Serpa is a quiet agri cultural mix of Spanish and Portuguese
town known for its cheese. is spoken. A speciality pro-
Pleasing squares and streets
duced here is the dry-cured
EXPERIENCE Alentejo over looked by a Moorish castle, from the local black pigs.
of whitewashed houses are
barrancos ham, which is made
rebuilt in the late 13th century.
Watch Museum
Serpa’s stout walls are topped
by an arched aqueduct. Beside
⌂ Convento do Mosteirinho
# 2–6pm Tue–Fri, 10am–
the monumental Porta de Beja
is a nora, or Arab water wheel.
Won from the Moors in 1232,
∑ museudorelogio.com
Serpa success fully resisted 12:30pm, 2–6pm Sat & Sun
foreign control until a brief
Spanish occupation in 1707. 18
The Watch Museum,
occupying 10 rooms of the Vidigueira
16th-century Convento do ! E6 @ n Edificio das
Mosteirinho, boasts a collec- Piscinas Municipias;
tion of more than 2,300 284 437 410
watches and clocks, all of
them mechanical and some Fine wines make Vidigueira The traditional Moita–
dating from the 17th century. a leading centre of wine Viana do Alentejo
The museum also has a small production in the Alentejo Horse Pilgrimage
garden and a bar. region. Less well known is the
Serpa is just 35 km fact that the explorer Vasco
(22 miles) from the Spanish da Gama was the count of
border. The Moors, and later Vidigueira (p114). His remains,
Spain, fought for control of now in the Mosteiro dos Did You Know?
the region, which was finally Jerónimos (p108), laid from
ceded to Portugal in 1295. 1539 to 1898 in the Convento Most of Portugal’s
Continued disputes have left do Carmo, now private strategic castles were
the legacy of a chain of watch- property. A modern statue of ordered to be built
towers and a peppering of the town’s most famous son by King Dinis
fortresses across these hills. stands in the flowery square (1279–1325).
One of the most remote, the named after him. The main
deserted fort at Noudar, was features of this little town are
built in 1346, but even in this a Misericórdia church dated
1620, and a clock tower from 19
Vasco da Gama’s time.
One of Portugal’s most Viana do Alentejo
notable Roman sites, São ! E6 @ n Praça da
Cucufate, named after a República; 266 930 012
later monastery, lies 4 km
(2.5 miles) west of Vidigueira. Viana do Alentejo’s castle,
The vaulting belonged to begun in 1313, was built to
a 4th-century villa, but exca- the design of King Dinis, the
vations have revealed the height of the outer wall exactly
baths of a 2nd-century house, calculated to protect soldiers
whose wine presses, reservoir from attacking lancers. The
and temple indicate a sump- unusual cylindrical towers
tuous Roman residence. show a Moorish influence and
Nestled against the slopes much of the later remodelling
of the Serro do Mendro, the dates from João II, who held a
Cortes de Cima winery is close cortes here in 1481–2.
The great historic by and can be visited for tours Mirroring the castle walls
walls and arched and wine tasting (www.vinho are the crenellations and
aqueduct at Serpa dosalentejo.pt). pinnacles of the adjacent
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