KCR Winter 2025 2026 Mag V3 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 90
Alentejo, Portugal’s Hidden Gem
There’s a quiet rhythm to Alentejo - a pulse that beats slower than the
rest of Portugal. It’s a land of golden plains and whitewashed villages,
where time stretches like the endless horizon and the scent of cork and
wild herbs lingers in the air. Travelers often rush past on their way from
Lisbon to the Algarve, but those who pause here soon discover that
there’s a lot to explore.
It covers nearly a third of Portugal’s landmass, yet it remains one of
Europe’s least populated regions. The 昀椀rst thing that strikes you is the
space - vast, sun-drenched 昀椀elds of wheat and wild昀氀owers that roll
toward distant olive groves. Scattered across the plains are clusters of
cork oaks, their trunks scarred from harvest, an ancient rural economy
that still sustains local life.
are present with more than 350 wines to be tasted.
By late afternoon, the fairgrounds come alive with live music and laughter. Groups of men burst into Cante Alentejano - the slow polyphonic
singing that’s unique to the region. And it’s not just the singers who
are fuelled by wine, everywhere there’s the sound of chinking glasses.
And that’s the magic of Alentejo - it’s a place to be felt, savoured, and
remembered.
www.visitalentejo.pt/en
Rupert Parker
Alentejo is one of Portugal’s most important wine regions, producing
full-bodied reds and surprisingly elegant whites. Visit a winery such as
Fita Preta near Évora or Herdade dos Grous near Beja, which also has
livestock and olive trees. Wine tastings here often come with olive oil
samplings and local bread and sausage.
The capital of Alentejo is Évora, a UNESCO World Heritage city that
feels like an open-air museum of Portuguese history. Surrounded by
medieval walls, Évora’s cobblestone lanes twist through centuries of
architecture - Roman temples, Moorish courtyards, Gothic cathedrals,
and whitewashed townhouses adorned with azulejos tiles.
At its heart stands the Praça do Giraldo, Évora’s main square. Once the
site of executions during the Inquisition, it now hums with café chatter
and the scent of strong Portuguese espresso. The square’s arcaded
buildings glow in soft limestone hues, while a 16th-century fountain,
topped with a cross, keeps watch over the city’s comings and goings.
Perched on a small hill overlooking the old town is the Templo Romano,
its tall Corinthian columns, carved from granite and capped with marble, rise against the Alentejo sky. This ancient monument, dating from
the 1st century AD, survived invasions, earthquakes, and even centuries
of neglect - thanks, ironically, to being incorporated into a medieval
slaughterhouse.
Just steps away, the eerie Capela dos Ossos (“Chapel of Bones”) o昀昀ers
a haunting reminder of mortality - its walls lined with thousands of human skulls and bones. Hidden inside the Church of São Francisco, this
macabre masterpiece was built by Franciscan monks in the 16th century
as a meditation on mortality. Above the entrance, a chilling inscription
reads: “We bones that are here, await yours.”
Beyond Évora, the countryside unfolds into a patchwork of sleepy
villages, each one a postcard of whitewashed houses trimmed with
cobalt-blue or mustard-yellow paint. Monsaraz, perched high above the
Guadiana River near the Spanish border, is among the most enchanting.
Inside its medieval walls, cobblestone alleys wind past craft shops
and tiny taverns, all overlooking the glittering waters of the Alqueva
Reservoir, Europe’s largest arti昀椀cial lake. At night, Monsaraz becomes
a stargazer’s paradise, part of the Dark Sky Alqueva Reserve, one of the
world’s 昀椀rst certi昀椀ed starlight tourism destinations.
Further south is Beja, founded by the Romans as Pax Julia in the 昀椀rst
century BC, it was named to commemorate the peace between Julius
Caesar and local tribes. Narrow lanes winding past whitewashed houses,
adorned with wrought-iron balconies and bursts of bougainvillea.
The Castelo de Beja rises proudly above the city. Built in the 13th
century under King Dinis, its tower is one of Portugal’s 昀椀nest examples
of Gothic military architecture. Climb its spiral staircase to the top, and
you’re rewarded with sweeping views of the Alentejo plain. Below, redtiled roofs cluster around cobbled streets, while the white spire of the
cathedral glimmers in the sunlight.
I time my visit to Beja to coincide with the VINIPAX wine fair. For three
days, in October, the city becomes the heart of Iberian wine culture,
o昀昀ering tastings, workshops, and authentic Alentejo food. This year,
some 40 exhibitors and around 60 producers from Portugal and Spain
KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW
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