About the Alentejo
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The Alentejo is fast becoming the "New Algarve". With property prices in the Algarve exceeding most peoples' pockets, they are heading a little further north and discovering the beautiful unspolt farming region. The weather is just as sunny, the food is more typical and the life much slower. The Alentejo region is commonly known as the "bread basket" of Portugal. A fitting title for this vast open countryside with undulating plains and rich fertile soil. With very few exceptions all the major towns are mainly reliant on agriculture, livestock and wood. Typical products from this area are grain, sunflower, carthame, fruit, vegetables, olives, wines, cork, eucalyptus, lamb, pigs, kid, granite, schist and marble. Topographically the countryside varies considerably, from the open rolling plains of the south of the Alentejo to the granite hills that border Spain in the north-east. To feed the water needs of this considerable area a number of public dams have been constructed. In the heart of the productive agriculture zone of Moura, there is at present under construction the largest so far and is claimed it will have when finished one of the largest water surface areas in Europe. To the east of Portalegre is the Parque Natural da Serra de São Mamede, a fascinating Nature Park Area that includes charming medieval villages that have changed very little from those days. In the south near Mértola is another Nature Park Area named Parque Natural do Vale Guadiana. This is mainly uninhabited and a contrast to the other above. To the west, the coastal strip that runs from the port of Sines down to Cape de São Vicente is also a reserved area. The capital of the Baixa Alentejo is Beja, and the capital of the Alta Alentejo is Évora. Both these cities are rich in history, ruins and historic buildings. Their stories reflect the turbulent backgrounds of invasion, battles and occupation, either by Romans, Moors, or feuding royal houses within Portugal. |
