In the Alentejo, towns and villages are living museums, some of them barely touched by the passing of time. There are also many vibrant festivals, which are open to visitors, throughout the year. These include the International Rock Festival, which is held in August at Zambujeira do Mar and the World Music Festival - Ethnic and Modern, which is held in July at Sines. In the south of the Alentejo, where the landscape is flatter, one of the jewels of the area is Évora, capital of the Alto Alentejo region. This beautiful, hilltop town, still protected by a ring of fortified walls enclosing cobbled streets and quaint houses, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Alentejo is also filled with ancient history and on every corner you can discover archeological sites of interest. The ruins of Pisões, a Roman Villa very near Beja, contain two-thousand-year-old mosaics, and are a good example of Alentejo's ancestral rural tradition. Even more impressive is the ancient Roman city of Miróbriga near Santiago do Cacém. Take a look at the baths, and relive the excitement of Roman chariot racing in the country’s only complete hippodrome – it’s essential place to visit.
Roman ruins Mirobriga - Santiago do Cacém, photo by José Manuel
In the 'town' of Pisões, with its typically Roman architecture arranged around a peristyle (central courtyard surrounded by columns), you are bound to feel that you have been transported back to the beginnings of time, and you will start to imagine what everyday life was like for the residents, what hands touched these walls, what feelings moved them.
Don't miss the chance to pay a visit to Castro da Cola in Ourique. Uncover the site’s diverse archaeology and travel from the Neolithic Age via the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages in the space of a few hours! The ancient settlements and funerary monuments also mark the Christian world, and the legacy of the Moors.
ATOP members: Castaways Unicorn Holidays, Destination Portugal, Keytel International, PTG Tours Ltd, Sunvil Discovery
