Para descobrir em http://aecsemmovimentomarvao.blogspot.com
Mostrar mensagens com a etiqueta Recursos Web. Mostrar todas as mensagens
Mostrar mensagens com a etiqueta Recursos Web. Mostrar todas as mensagens
31/12/2010
29/11/2010
Inauguração da exposição de fotografia “MARVÃO E O FESTIVAL ISLÂMICO, AL’MOSSASSA”.
Posted on 11/28/2010 by UNITED PHOTO PRESS
O fotógrafo da United Photo Press Luis Oliveira, apresentou fotografias de uma das mais lindas vilas históricas de Portugal, localizada na sua totalidade dentro de um castelo medieval, a mais de 800 metros de altura e a 12 quilómetros da fronteira com Espanha e a cerca de 230 Kms de Lisboa. Cada pedra desta vila fortificada tem com toda a certeza uma história de dor, sangue e lágrimas. Palco de muitos combates, conquistada ao Islão e mais tarde baluarte da defesa de Portugal contra Castela.
Este fotógrafo premiado em Portugal e Espanha, e com dezenas de fotografias publicadas em revistas da especialidade por toda a Europa, dedicou parte dos últimos anos a fotografar esta localidade, aproveitado a diversa luz do dia em diversas alturas do ano. Prepara-se neste momento para editar um livro sobre Marvão, tendo sido convidado pela Edilidade local para participar em Exposição Internacional integrada num Fórum realizado nessa localidade.
No passado mês de Outubro foi fotografar um festival Islâmico que se realiza anualmente em Marvão, em parceria com o Ayuntamento de Badajoz, designado por “AL’MOSSASSA” e que traduz o encontro de 3 culturas – Cristã, Muçulmana e Árabe.
A qualidade das suas fotografias levou-o também a ser convidado para expôr o resultado desse trabalho em Lisboa no “Al Café” (um bar islâmico) onde vai está patente até dia 11 de Dezembro, e também de 08 a 29 de Janeiro de 2011 na “GALERIA DE ARTE DA LIVRARIA LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES” /Lisboa.
Reportagem: António Silva publicada AQUI
07/11/2010
Blogues da Comunidade Escolar do Concelho de Marvão
Os blogues preparados pela comunidade escolar do Concelho de Marvão são uma óptima maneira para os pais e amigos ficarem a conhecer um pouco mais do que se vai passando no dia-a-dia dos alunos e as actividades desenvolvidas.
Como estímulo para que continuem sempre actualizados aqui deixamos os links:
Biblioteca Escolar Marvão
Pré-Escolar Santo António das Areias
Pré Escolar Ammaia - Portagem
4º ano da Escola Ammaia - Portagem
Tempos Livrux - Ludotecas do Concelho de Marvão
Associação de Pais
05/10/2010
Almossassa 2010 - Vídeos disponíveis no YouTube
Reportagens LOCAL VISÃO
A Localvisão TV informa que já pode visualizar a peça "Al-Mossassa". Pode fazê-lo consultanto www.localvisao.tv - Distrito de Portalegre, Concelho de Marvão, na respectiva secção - "Vida e Lazer", clicando no título da peça que pretende visualizar.
ou consulte directamente o link abaixo:
http://videos.sapo.pt/E23tKMNQ99ViO80vr7Wn
http://videos.sapo.pt/HzS0mCmED4FlI1QA22Dh
27/09/2010
26/07/2010
Entrevista do Sr. Presidente da Câmara Municipal de Marvão ao Jornal Diário do Sul
Para conhecimento de V. Ex.as, junto enviamos página da edição de hoje do Diário do Sul onde foi publicada entrevista referente à vossa prestigiada vila.
Edição Electrónica
http://www.diariodosul.com.pt/index.php/sociedade/3787-a-minha-luta-suprema-e-marvao
Estamos ao vosso dispor para qualquer esclarecimento.
Diário do SUL: - www.diariodosul.com.pt
23/06/2010
Recorriendo Marvao (15 de junio)
Visitamos Marvao para ver todo lo que nos ofrece esta vecina localidad portuguesa: rutas, monumentos, gastronomía...
Para ver AQUI
28/04/2010
Peças de Marvão na Local TV
A Localvisão TV informa que já pode visualizar a peças relativas a Marvão, consultanto http://www.localvisao.tv/ - Distrito de Portalegre, Concelho de Marvão, na respectiva secção - "Viagens e Lugares", clicando no título da peça que pretende visualizar.
EM alternativa pode consultar directamente o links abaixo:
CHAMPANHE DE MARVÃO
http://www.localvisao.tv/vplay/index.asp?rid=uWt5wLdBW4azFiSCKD
PATRIMÓNIO MUNDIAL
http://www.localvisao.tv/vplay/index.asp?rid=1sct8Ck2hDd4ucoObp4F
25 DE ABRIL EM MARVÃO
http://www.localvisao.tv/vplay/index.asp?rid=Vi99an80ZNPk5YB9wj62
AMMAIA
http://www.localvisao.tv/vplay/index.asp?rid=qJanBbVTL0tfyZPLle7f
12/04/2010
Marvão nos dez melhores segredos do Tripadvisor
Marvão e o seu castelo estão na lista do site Tripadvisor dos “dez melhores segredos de viagem”. Numa lista que tanto inclui destinos menos conhecidos como aspectos pouco conhecidos de destinos bastante famosos (restaurantes, atracções menos divulgadas, etc), Marvão figura lado a lado com Tenerife, Nova Iorque, Istria (Croácia), Ljubljana (Eslovénia), Cairo, San Francisco, e outros locais, na maioria europeus. Como outras que o Tripadvisor regularmente divulga, esta lista é feita com base em escolhas e comentários publicados pelos utilizadores.
Para ler AQUI
Para ler AQUI
Marvão entre os “10 melhores segredos de Viagens” do TripAdvisor
Presstur 12-04-2010 (07h09) O Castelo de Marvão é um dos “10 melhores segredos de viagens” nomeados pelos membros do Trip Advisor, como “necessários ver” e que “ a maioria dos turistas perde completamente”.Além do Marvão, com destaque para o Castelo, que é descrito como uma “miragem de conto de fadas”, os outros pontos a não perder no Mundo são o Museu Gayer-Aderson, no Cairo, o restaurante Please Don’t Tell (PDT), em Nova Iorque, a Dragon Bridge, na Eslovenia, o Castelo Cessky Krumlov, na República Checa, o restaurante Hidden Vine, em São Francisco, La Orotava em Tenerife, Espanha, e dois pontos em Kotor, no Montenegro e em Amorgos, na Grécia.O Hotel Splendido e o Radomiri Palazzo Hotel no Montenegro e o Karkisia Hotel e o mosteiro de Panagia Hozoviotissa, na Grécia.
Para ler AQUI
02/04/2010
Marvão is one of Travel + Leisure 25 Secret European Vil lages that deliver authentic charm without the crowds
(foto Rui Cunha, retirada da notícia)Portugal: Marvão
There are dramatic mountainside forts, and then there is Marvão, the king of them all. Located in the southeastern Alentejo region of Portugal, this town is centered around a Moorish castle that was Christianized in the 13th century. The stone complex, now laid open to the elements in a kind of tumbledown glory, sits atop a rocky hill, dominating the red-tile-roofed houses and convents that spill out onto curving streets to the east.
Population: 159
How to Get There: By car from Lisbon.
Where to Stay: Great Value Pousada Santa Maria (doubles from $123), a simple 31-room hotel and restaurant constructed from a foundry and two 13th-century houses.
Where to Eat: Fill up on goat casserole at the Varanda do Alentejo lunch counter (lunch for two $27).
Para ver AQUI
Parque Natural de S. Mamede integra Observatório para Energia
Projecto informa sobre práticas energéticas, sensibilização ambiental e energias renováveis
O Parque Natural da Serra de São Mamede (PNSSM) vai acolher um Observatório Regional para a Energia (ORE), anunciou a Agência Regional de Energia e Ambiente do Norte Alentejano e Tejo (AreanaTejo), entidade promotora do projecto.
«O ORE surge como uma necessidade de possuir um ponto físico para divulgar os resultados dos trabalhos feitos pela AreanaTejo sobre a carta da energia», explicou à Lusa Tiago Gaio, da AreanaTejo.
De acordo com o responsável, o projecto vai ser desenvolvido na sede do Parque Natural, situada na Quinta dos Olhos d¿Água, no concelho de Marvão, em Portalegre.
«O projecto vai estar em funcionamento no final do verão. Em Setembro já deve estar à disposição de todos aqueles que visitam o PNSSM», declarou.
O ORE vai actuar como uma «espécie de quiosque informático», disponibilizando vários dados para os visitantes do PNSSM analisarem, uma área lúdica e uma área de informação e sensibilização para os turistas.
«Este projecto vai estar integrado num circuito que o PNSSM está a desenvolver e que abrange outros temas, nomeadamente a água e os resíduos. O tema sobre a energia será da responsabilidade da AreanaTejo», afirmou o responsável.
O projecto que a AreanaTejo vai apresentar contém um conjunto de informações sobre boas práticas energéticas e ambientais, de sensibilização e ainda dados sobre energias renováveis com a respectiva explicação teórica de cada uma dessas vertentes.
No entanto, Tiago Gaio explicou ainda que a AreanaTejo e o Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e da Biodiversidade (ICNB), entidade que tutela o PNSSM, têm em curso um outro projecto de «continuidade» dirigido à gestão florestal.
«Vamos criar um plano de gestão florestal da área de intervenção do PNSSM com o objectivo de manter a mancha florestal definida e que tenha como contributo a absorção de dióxido de carbono», revelou.
Através deste projecto, vai haver um «contributo para a neutralidade carbónica da região, em conjunto com a questão relacionada com os consumos de energia» retirados naquela zona do Alentejo.
«O ORE surge como uma necessidade de possuir um ponto físico para divulgar os resultados dos trabalhos feitos pela AreanaTejo sobre a carta da energia», explicou à Lusa Tiago Gaio, da AreanaTejo.
De acordo com o responsável, o projecto vai ser desenvolvido na sede do Parque Natural, situada na Quinta dos Olhos d¿Água, no concelho de Marvão, em Portalegre.
«O projecto vai estar em funcionamento no final do verão. Em Setembro já deve estar à disposição de todos aqueles que visitam o PNSSM», declarou.
O ORE vai actuar como uma «espécie de quiosque informático», disponibilizando vários dados para os visitantes do PNSSM analisarem, uma área lúdica e uma área de informação e sensibilização para os turistas.
«Este projecto vai estar integrado num circuito que o PNSSM está a desenvolver e que abrange outros temas, nomeadamente a água e os resíduos. O tema sobre a energia será da responsabilidade da AreanaTejo», afirmou o responsável.
O projecto que a AreanaTejo vai apresentar contém um conjunto de informações sobre boas práticas energéticas e ambientais, de sensibilização e ainda dados sobre energias renováveis com a respectiva explicação teórica de cada uma dessas vertentes.
No entanto, Tiago Gaio explicou ainda que a AreanaTejo e o Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e da Biodiversidade (ICNB), entidade que tutela o PNSSM, têm em curso um outro projecto de «continuidade» dirigido à gestão florestal.
«Vamos criar um plano de gestão florestal da área de intervenção do PNSSM com o objectivo de manter a mancha florestal definida e que tenha como contributo a absorção de dióxido de carbono», revelou.
Através deste projecto, vai haver um «contributo para a neutralidade carbónica da região, em conjunto com a questão relacionada com os consumos de energia» retirados naquela zona do Alentejo.
TVI 24 - Retirado daqui
23/02/2010
Lenda de Nossa Senhora da Estrela no Portal Portalegre Digital
O novo Portal da Região de Portalegre já está disponível e tem em hoje em destaque uma notícia de Marvão. Para descobrir aqui
03/12/2009
Ministra suspende aumento das taxas cobradas pelo Instituto da Conservação da Natureza
Desde 13 de Outubro que qualquer pedido feito ao Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e da Biodiversidade (ICNB) para a emissão de pareceres, informações ou autorizações de quaisquer actividades custa no mínimo 200 euros. A medida levantou várias críticas, desde autarcas a associações desportivas e de caça. Agora, a nova ministra do Ambiente, Dulce Pássaro, decidiu suspender a portaria por 90 dias
Tal como tinha anunciado ao PÚBLICO, Dulce Pássaro mandou suspender a portaria por considerar que esta tinha de ser reavaliada. Na entrevista publicada no dia 23 de Novembro, a ministra disse que “se o ICNB presta serviços no âmbito das suas competências, é natural que haja cobrança pela prestação destes serviços, mas esta cobrança não deve ser desproporcionada.”A portaria 1245/2009, de 13 de Outubro, que foi aprovada pelo anterior governo já em final de mandato, reviu uma anterior de 2003 que definia as taxas a cobrar pelos serviços prestados pelo ICNB, definindo um mínimo de 200 euros por cada parecer. Rapidamente começaram a surgir críticas, vindas tanto dos ambientalistas, que consideraram que as taxas penalizavam os moradores nas áreas protegidas, como de partidos como o Bloco de Esquerda ou o PCP, que apresentou um projecto de lei para revogar estas, e outras, taxas cobradas pelo ICNB.O presidente da Câmara de Marvão, Vítor Frutuoso, chegou a acusar o ICNB de “parasitar” os moradores do concelho com o aumento das taxas. Foi posta a correr uma petição por um clube de montanhismo e os caçadores juntaram-se aos protestos.Agora, volta a estar em vigor a anterior portaria até que o diploma entretanto suspenso seja revisto.
in Público17/11/2009
A Localvisão TV informa que já pode visualizar a peça "Festa do Castanheiro em Marvão". Pode fazê-lo consultando http://www.localvisao.tv/ – Distrito de Castelo Branco, na respectiva secção – "Noticias", clicando no título da peça que pretende visualizar; ou em modo "live".
ou consulte directamente o link abaixo:
http://www.localvisao.tv/vplay/index.asp?rid=u2coe0A7hzJtpATyyKzH
12/11/2009
05/11/2009
Marvão no New York Times - Alto Alentejo, Unsung but Not for Long
The walled town of Marvão in the eastern part of Alto Alentejo in Portugal. The town's castle was a Moorish fortification built in the ninth century.
By ROBERT GOFF
Published: November 8, 2009
By ROBERT GOFF
Published: November 8, 2009
IN 2002, Doug Smith was bored. Korakia Pensione, his Mediterranean-style boutique hotel in Palm Springs, Calif., that attracted a celebrity crowd like Annie Leibovitz, Gore Vidal and Brice Marden, pretty much ran itself. Mr. Smith was looking for a new project — a grand fixer-upper in an exotic locale — where he could show off his well-honed style and settle into a life of rustic ease with his new wife, Josie.
He scoured real estate listings for haciendas on the Yucatán and sea captain houses on the Greek island of Simi. But then, one summer while touring farms in the Extremadura region of Spain, Mr. Smith crossed into Alto Alentejo, a region of Portugal that he’d never heard of, and found himself enraptured by the landscape, excellent food, a lost-in-time lifestyle and the relatively inexpensive cost of living.
After four days of inspecting broken-down barns and farmhouses, he bought a 130-acre 18th-century farm outside the village of Campo Maior. “Compared with Spain, this place was even more charming, beautiful and about a third less expensive,” Mr. Smith said. “Old guys in snap caps and corduroys tip their hats to strangers.”
In the past seven years, Mr. Smith, who no longer owns Korakia Pensione, has watched the Alto Alentejo, a border province carpeted with cork oaks and olive trees in southeastern Portugal, emerge as a stylish backwater. The region’s name is derived from “Além-Tejo,” which means “beyond the Tagus,” the river that flows past Lisbon. A new blacktop highway now stretches eastward from Lisbon, and within an hour you’re admiring vineyards, the occasional whitewashed town or castle and gently rolling plains.
A sophisticated international set has started to snap up properties in the area, turning Alto Alentejo into their little European playground. Now tucked among the fashionable homes is a smattering of boutique hotels, wineries and casual yet sophisticated restaurants.
Until recently, Alto Alentejo was an enclave of Lisbon’s old-money set interested in making wine, raising the local breed of Alter-Real horses and communing with their version of the outback. But they welcome newcomers. “We want to tell the world about this part of Portugal,” said João Pinto Ribeiro, the president of Palácio do Correio Velho, one of Portugal’s leading art auction houses, who has owned a farm in the region for more than 20 years. “It’s a poor place and could really use more visitors.”
He met Doug and Josie Smith while driving his horse and buggy along a country road that runs between their respective houses, and a friendship arose over Alentejo’s principal vices: food and wine.
A big night out in Alentejo is a dinner party at someone’s home. As in Provence and Tuscany, food and wine bond families and strangers alike. On a warm night in July, Mr. Ribeiro prepared to serve one of his specialties, bachalau, gliding a long knife through what looked like a massive mound of coarse salt in a clay baking-dish. He carefully used the flat side of the blade to turn over a flap of encrusted salt and flesh to prevent salt from scattering into the giant cod beneath it.
“If you do this correctly, you might even need to add a bit of salt for flavor,” he said. The fish was the centerpiece of Mr. Ribeiro’s dinner party, which took place poolside overlooking the Caia Reservoir, a hub for birdwatchers. The guests included the Smiths; a local landowning family; Mr. Ribeiro’s wife, Ana, and brother, José, a photographer; and a surgeon visiting from Louisiana.
By day the region is best visited by car. Start in Estremoz, one of the main towns of the Alto Alentejo with a population of 15,000. Once the seat of the 14th-century Portuguese king Dom Dinis, Estremoz remains grand, if seemingly empty of people. Like many towns and cities in Alentejo, the streets and buildings are lined in marble, an abundant local resource, which gives an overall effect of everything appearing white and, on a sunny day, radiant.
On Saturdays the main square of the town, the Rossio Marquês de Pombal, comes alive with a morning market where farmers peddle fresh cheese, wine, local crafts and bric-a-brac. Narrow streets and staircases lead up to the star-shaped ramparts of the castle walls.
At the center of the castle grounds, an 18th-century palace now houses one of the region’s best hotels, the Pousada Rainha Santa Isabel. The hotel, like many pousadas (essentially a government-sponsored chain of high-end lodgings in historic buildings), is the epitome of anachronistic luxury. Imagine the Plaza in New York or the Ritz in Paris in, say, 1984 and you will get an idea. Waiters in rumpled tuxedos shuffle drinks to guests on the terrace overlooking the town.
For a slightly hipper ambience that reels in Lisbon’s beautiful people, drive to the bedraggled town of Crato, where the Convento da Flor da Rosa brings contemporary art and sleek décor to a 14th-century castle, later a cloister. The castlelike pousada may house the tomb of Nuno Álvares Pereira, a medieval knight and recently canonized saint, but on a sunny Friday afternoon, all eyes were on the modern infinity-edge pool festooned with amber sunbathers sipping white wine made from the arinto grape.
There is no shortage of historic sites in Alto Alentejo and one of the most beautiful is Marvão, a walled town that sits on a narrow spit of rock overlooking the rugged plains that reach across into Spain. Marvão is home to perfectly restored, whitewashed houses and a castle built in the ninth century as a Moorish fortification by Ibn Marwan.
Another historic standout is the Capela dos Ossos, a marble-and-stone chapel built in 1766 with neo-Gothic flourishes in the small and bustling city of Campo Maior. The interior of the chapel, a smaller version of the Capela dos Ossos in Évora, is covered in human bones, skulls and two complete skeletons.
Alto Alentejo also offers natural treasures. In particular, the modestly sized Caia Reservoir looks like an oasis in a Saharan savanna with scrubby hills and clear water unmarred by boats. The reservoir, adjacent to Mr. Ribeiro’s estate, is a haven for rare birds like Montagu’s harrier, the great bustard and the Spanish imperial eagle. Visitors can stay at the Casa da Ermida de Santa Catarina, a seven-room boutique inn that sits at the end of a peninsula on the private Rocha estate.
But for the epicures who have flocked to Alentejo in recent years, the region’s top draw is its cuisine. Its basic elements are wheat, olive oil, pork and certain fish, like cod, which the locals fry, bake and infuse with garlic and herbs in various glorious ways. Lamb and duck make luxurious appearances.
After four days of inspecting broken-down barns and farmhouses, he bought a 130-acre 18th-century farm outside the village of Campo Maior. “Compared with Spain, this place was even more charming, beautiful and about a third less expensive,” Mr. Smith said. “Old guys in snap caps and corduroys tip their hats to strangers.”
In the past seven years, Mr. Smith, who no longer owns Korakia Pensione, has watched the Alto Alentejo, a border province carpeted with cork oaks and olive trees in southeastern Portugal, emerge as a stylish backwater. The region’s name is derived from “Além-Tejo,” which means “beyond the Tagus,” the river that flows past Lisbon. A new blacktop highway now stretches eastward from Lisbon, and within an hour you’re admiring vineyards, the occasional whitewashed town or castle and gently rolling plains.
A sophisticated international set has started to snap up properties in the area, turning Alto Alentejo into their little European playground. Now tucked among the fashionable homes is a smattering of boutique hotels, wineries and casual yet sophisticated restaurants.
Until recently, Alto Alentejo was an enclave of Lisbon’s old-money set interested in making wine, raising the local breed of Alter-Real horses and communing with their version of the outback. But they welcome newcomers. “We want to tell the world about this part of Portugal,” said João Pinto Ribeiro, the president of Palácio do Correio Velho, one of Portugal’s leading art auction houses, who has owned a farm in the region for more than 20 years. “It’s a poor place and could really use more visitors.”
He met Doug and Josie Smith while driving his horse and buggy along a country road that runs between their respective houses, and a friendship arose over Alentejo’s principal vices: food and wine.
A big night out in Alentejo is a dinner party at someone’s home. As in Provence and Tuscany, food and wine bond families and strangers alike. On a warm night in July, Mr. Ribeiro prepared to serve one of his specialties, bachalau, gliding a long knife through what looked like a massive mound of coarse salt in a clay baking-dish. He carefully used the flat side of the blade to turn over a flap of encrusted salt and flesh to prevent salt from scattering into the giant cod beneath it.
“If you do this correctly, you might even need to add a bit of salt for flavor,” he said. The fish was the centerpiece of Mr. Ribeiro’s dinner party, which took place poolside overlooking the Caia Reservoir, a hub for birdwatchers. The guests included the Smiths; a local landowning family; Mr. Ribeiro’s wife, Ana, and brother, José, a photographer; and a surgeon visiting from Louisiana.
By day the region is best visited by car. Start in Estremoz, one of the main towns of the Alto Alentejo with a population of 15,000. Once the seat of the 14th-century Portuguese king Dom Dinis, Estremoz remains grand, if seemingly empty of people. Like many towns and cities in Alentejo, the streets and buildings are lined in marble, an abundant local resource, which gives an overall effect of everything appearing white and, on a sunny day, radiant.
On Saturdays the main square of the town, the Rossio Marquês de Pombal, comes alive with a morning market where farmers peddle fresh cheese, wine, local crafts and bric-a-brac. Narrow streets and staircases lead up to the star-shaped ramparts of the castle walls.
At the center of the castle grounds, an 18th-century palace now houses one of the region’s best hotels, the Pousada Rainha Santa Isabel. The hotel, like many pousadas (essentially a government-sponsored chain of high-end lodgings in historic buildings), is the epitome of anachronistic luxury. Imagine the Plaza in New York or the Ritz in Paris in, say, 1984 and you will get an idea. Waiters in rumpled tuxedos shuffle drinks to guests on the terrace overlooking the town.
For a slightly hipper ambience that reels in Lisbon’s beautiful people, drive to the bedraggled town of Crato, where the Convento da Flor da Rosa brings contemporary art and sleek décor to a 14th-century castle, later a cloister. The castlelike pousada may house the tomb of Nuno Álvares Pereira, a medieval knight and recently canonized saint, but on a sunny Friday afternoon, all eyes were on the modern infinity-edge pool festooned with amber sunbathers sipping white wine made from the arinto grape.
There is no shortage of historic sites in Alto Alentejo and one of the most beautiful is Marvão, a walled town that sits on a narrow spit of rock overlooking the rugged plains that reach across into Spain. Marvão is home to perfectly restored, whitewashed houses and a castle built in the ninth century as a Moorish fortification by Ibn Marwan.
Another historic standout is the Capela dos Ossos, a marble-and-stone chapel built in 1766 with neo-Gothic flourishes in the small and bustling city of Campo Maior. The interior of the chapel, a smaller version of the Capela dos Ossos in Évora, is covered in human bones, skulls and two complete skeletons.
Alto Alentejo also offers natural treasures. In particular, the modestly sized Caia Reservoir looks like an oasis in a Saharan savanna with scrubby hills and clear water unmarred by boats. The reservoir, adjacent to Mr. Ribeiro’s estate, is a haven for rare birds like Montagu’s harrier, the great bustard and the Spanish imperial eagle. Visitors can stay at the Casa da Ermida de Santa Catarina, a seven-room boutique inn that sits at the end of a peninsula on the private Rocha estate.
But for the epicures who have flocked to Alentejo in recent years, the region’s top draw is its cuisine. Its basic elements are wheat, olive oil, pork and certain fish, like cod, which the locals fry, bake and infuse with garlic and herbs in various glorious ways. Lamb and duck make luxurious appearances.
Aromatic cheeses range from the firm, nutty Nisa to the runny, fragrant Queijo da Serras. The regional wines can be sophisticated and interesting, from the robust reds of the Quinta do Carmo, jointly owned by the Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite), to lighter wines made from local trincadeira grapes.
A perfect example of the Alentejo’s gastro-rustic cuisine is Restaurante a Maria, a small establishment in sleepy Alandroal, where the owner and chef Maria Monteiro serves exquisite local fare in a room decorated to look like a village square. Classics include queijo de Ovelha (an orange-crusted round of gooey sheep’s milk cheese), pato em molho de vinho tinto (duck in red wine sauce) and migas a Alentejana (fried pork with bread soaked in pork fat). Culinary awards plaster the walls near the entrance, and there is a seriousness about the diners that is in keeping with the quality of the food.
Like Maria Monteiro’s unself-conscious fare, many of Alto Alentejo’s Old World charms are served up in a straightforward and unpretentious manner. All of this may change when, in addition to the new highway from Lisbon, a high-speed train between Madrid and Lisbon starts service as expected in 2012, with a stop in Elvas, making Alto Alentejo even more accessible to tourists and weekend house buyers from throughout southwestern Europe.
But for now it is an uncomplicated place, inexpensive and appreciative of visitors. “This is Tuscany 30 years ago,” Mr. Smith, the former hotelier, said.
FORMERLY PALACES, NOW HOTELS
HOW TO GET THERE
The nearest major airport is in Lisbon. Continental and TAP fly nonstop from Newark Airport to Lisbon, with fares starting at about $600 for travel next month, according to a recent online search. The drive to Estremoz from Lisbon’s airport on the new highway takes about two hours.
WHERE TO STAY
Housed in a former royal palace, the Pousada Rainha Santa Isabel in Estremoz (Lardo de D. Diniz; 351-268-332-075; www.pousadas.pt) offers canopied beds, marble bathrooms and high-ceilinged rooms with views. Rooms start at 90 euros ($138 at $1.53 to the euro).
Just outside of Crato, Pousada Flor da Rosa (Mosteiro da Flor da Rosa; 351-245-997-210; www.pousadas.pt) attracts a stylish clientele with rooms starting at 102 euros.
In Elvas, the Hotel São João de Deus (Largo S. João Deus, 1; 351-268-661-194; www.hotelsaojoaodeus.net) is elegantly appointed and has a small pool. Rooms start at 70 euros a night.
Between Estremoz and Redondo, the Convento de São Paulo (351-266-989-160; www.hotelconventospaulo.com) is in a former hilltop convent, with two pools and stunning tilework. Rooms start at 90 euros a night.
WHERE TO EAT
Zona Verde (Largo Dragões Olivança, 86; 351-268-324-701) in Estremoz serves regional fare like roasted black pig and braised lamb shank with potatoes. Dinner, including wine, comes to about 25 euros a person.
Restaurante Casa do Povo (Rua de Cima, Marvão; 351-245-993-160) serves traditional fare on a terrace with valley views. The accorda Alenteja, a garlicky bread and coriander soup, is delicious. Lunch for two, no wine, is about 25 euros.
Restaurante a Maria (Rua João de Deus, 12; 351-268-431-143), above, in Alandroal is a venerated traditional restaurant. Dinner for two, with wine, is about 80 euros.
Like Maria Monteiro’s unself-conscious fare, many of Alto Alentejo’s Old World charms are served up in a straightforward and unpretentious manner. All of this may change when, in addition to the new highway from Lisbon, a high-speed train between Madrid and Lisbon starts service as expected in 2012, with a stop in Elvas, making Alto Alentejo even more accessible to tourists and weekend house buyers from throughout southwestern Europe.
But for now it is an uncomplicated place, inexpensive and appreciative of visitors. “This is Tuscany 30 years ago,” Mr. Smith, the former hotelier, said.
FORMERLY PALACES, NOW HOTELS
HOW TO GET THERE
The nearest major airport is in Lisbon. Continental and TAP fly nonstop from Newark Airport to Lisbon, with fares starting at about $600 for travel next month, according to a recent online search. The drive to Estremoz from Lisbon’s airport on the new highway takes about two hours.
WHERE TO STAY
Housed in a former royal palace, the Pousada Rainha Santa Isabel in Estremoz (Lardo de D. Diniz; 351-268-332-075; www.pousadas.pt) offers canopied beds, marble bathrooms and high-ceilinged rooms with views. Rooms start at 90 euros ($138 at $1.53 to the euro).
Just outside of Crato, Pousada Flor da Rosa (Mosteiro da Flor da Rosa; 351-245-997-210; www.pousadas.pt) attracts a stylish clientele with rooms starting at 102 euros.
In Elvas, the Hotel São João de Deus (Largo S. João Deus, 1; 351-268-661-194; www.hotelsaojoaodeus.net) is elegantly appointed and has a small pool. Rooms start at 70 euros a night.
Between Estremoz and Redondo, the Convento de São Paulo (351-266-989-160; www.hotelconventospaulo.com) is in a former hilltop convent, with two pools and stunning tilework. Rooms start at 90 euros a night.
WHERE TO EAT
Zona Verde (Largo Dragões Olivança, 86; 351-268-324-701) in Estremoz serves regional fare like roasted black pig and braised lamb shank with potatoes. Dinner, including wine, comes to about 25 euros a person.
Restaurante Casa do Povo (Rua de Cima, Marvão; 351-245-993-160) serves traditional fare on a terrace with valley views. The accorda Alenteja, a garlicky bread and coriander soup, is delicious. Lunch for two, no wine, is about 25 euros.
Restaurante a Maria (Rua João de Deus, 12; 351-268-431-143), above, in Alandroal is a venerated traditional restaurant. Dinner for two, with wine, is about 80 euros.
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