Caminhos de Santiago Alentejo e Ribatejo - Central Way

No Alentejo

The Central Way passes through Santa Cruz, where the Parish Church, built in the 16th century, is home to a rather unusual icon of Jesus in the Garden, where one can see represented the sweat turning into blood.

Further ahead, in the medieval town of Almodôvar, the riverine landscape invites us to savour the crystal-clear waters of Ribeira do Vascão, stream located within the Special Protected Area of the Guadiana valley, dotted with watermills and weirs. If you pay close attention, with a little luck you may spot a few rare wildlife specimens.

In the town, the Museum of Southern Writing (Escrita do Sudoeste) reveals to us the immense archaeological richness of the district and, in particular, the singular destiny of a people which invented its own written language between the 7th and 5th centuries BC. Because the Ways to Santiago are much more than simply hiking trips, the dam of Campilhas, built in 1954 in Santiago de Cacém, offers the chance to try out all kinds of non-motorised water sports and recreational fishing.

The Way continues, passing through Alcácer do Sal, which has one of the most important examples of Renaissance architecture in the country: Capela das Onze Mil Virgens (the Chapel of the Eleven Thousand Virgins). In white marble, with a dome covered in translucent jasper that captures the sun’s rays, colour bathes the sculpted forms, attributed to António Rodrigues, an architect during the reign of King D. Sebastião, who was influenced by the Italian master Michelangelo. A city where one can also learn about the Lenda da Costureirinha (Legend of the Little Seamstress), told over much of the Baixo (Low) Alentejo region, where many are those who claim to have heard the sound of a sewing machine that never stops. According to legend it is seamstress who sews for all eternity, after having made a wedding dress for her daughter who died before the marriage.

Journeying through Ribatejo

For nature lovers, the journey through Benavente is a chance to do some serious birdwatching and in the meadow and wheat fields see scarcer, less common species that typically make their home in such habitats. The alluvial valleys that open onto the Tagus, Sorraia and Almansor rivers are like genuine islands interspersed among the characteristic dryness of the highlands. The shore lands that embraces the Tagus and all waterlogged areas offer far greater biodiversity, where European migrating waterfowl and others from southern climes can be spotted, such as the Black-winged stilt and reed warbler.

In Santarém, Misericórdia church, built in the mid-16th century (1559) is worth a visit. This is a perfect example of a hall church with three naves and rib-vaulted ceilings illuminated by six rectangular windows. Within is found the shallow grave of Nuno Velho Pereira, one of the most significant figures of the period of Portuguese imperial expansion, a captain of India and a patron of the almshouses of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia. There one can also see a pipe organ from 1818 that was restored in 2008.

It is here in the Ribatejan capital that the gateway of Porta de Santiago is found, the main entrance to Santarém castle, where one can see a coat of arms of the Fernandinos of Portugal, as well as the Portas do Sol, nowadays a panoramic viewpoint built on city walls with three turrets.

The Ways, just like history itself, are full of tales that are yet to be confirmed and since became legend, such as that of Torre das Cabaças tower, which tells that during the reign of King D. Manuel, since Santarém was lacking a clock tower, the monarch was asked to make this a reality. A sum was donated to pay for its construction, which eight local councilmen were nominated to ‘oversee’. But once it was complete, rather than being satisfied with the result, the king was sorely displeased, considering the public money poorly spent. And so, at the tower’s summit on the iron structure supporting the bell, the King ordered 8 ‘cabaças’, or gourds, to be placed there, symbolising the heads of the 8 men responsible for its construction.

As the Central Way draws to a close, we arrive to Golegã, a place to stop and rest ever since the nation’s early days, where once there was an inn belonging to a woman from Galicia, known as Venda Galega, which later gave its name to the town. A land of knights and their steeds, the Equuspolis Cultural Centre with its equestrian library is worth a look, as is the Fórum Manuel Fernandes or the Mestre Martins Correia Municipal Museum.