Serpa is another of those towns in the east of Portugal’s Alentejo which is relatively unknown to tourists – people travel to the Algarve, or Porto, or Lisbon, but the Alentejo remains hidden and undiscovered. Restless Jo wrote a marvellous post on the town recently – do read it! I didn’t do Serpa justice and just would like to share a few memories with you here.
The town is on a hilltop, walled, and with a castle (of course, this is Portugal and near the border with Spain!). And like many of these sites it was settled c.400BC by the original inhabitants of the area, the Turdelos, occupied by the Romans and the Moors and finally retaken by the Portuguese and fortified by King Dinis – who else!
There were originally five gates into the town; this Moura Gateway is one of the three which I saw as we walked through the streets.
The walls are surmounted by an impressive 11C aqueduct (Moorish?) on the west side of the town, with a 17C pumping station at one end, used to supply water to the Manor House of the Counts of Ficalho.
The Castle has a long history of defending the town and the border and is now home to an interesting small archaeological museum.
The Count of Ficalho Manor House backs on to the walls, with an impressive square in front of the house. It looked rather delapidated and I imagine would make a wonderful home, or small hotel if renovated. Buildings like this, and those around the Praça da Republica point to a prosperous history.
I would love to return to this small town to properly investigate the churches, buildings, castle, and museums… Do stop by if you are in the area, and do read Restless Jo’s post!
Further information
Duke of Ficalho
Serpa
sunnydaysinseattle
We didn’t get to go here. But I did love the cheese named after this area. Like you said, I wish to be back and do it proper! P.S. Is it possible to visit this village by public transportation? Thanks!
Candy Blackham
According to http://www.portugalvisitor.com there are buses between Serpa, Beja, Mertola, and Lisbon… We hire a car for maximum flexibility; something quite small will do as distances aren’t great and the streets are narrow in the old towns.
sunnydaysinseattle
Thanks Candy!
Candy Blackham
A pleasure!
restlessjo
Thank you so much for a lovely post. I barely just caught it as I was about to press Publish, and I’m missing for 2 weeks after this so good timing. 🙂 🙂 The photos are wonderful. I didn’t stop for the view across the fields, so thanks for that, and the square and so many others are lovely shots.
Jo’s Monday walk : A lady and a folly | restlessjo
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