Beira Day 2 - Alfaiates and Sabugal

Our morning begins brisk and bright. After coffee and pastries we venture back into the small village of Alfaiates. Passing, again, the parish church, we notice a pair of enormous birds' nests on the east side of the clock tower – we are not sure if they are natural or if they were built there by someone, they look so clean. On the next street, we discover the local 'manor house' (Solar dos Camejos), which has some carved window sills, but is otherwise undistinguished.

Outside the Tasca D'el Rei, the workers prepare to install new roof tiles. In the center of the esplanada in front of the café is a rough stone statue of the Rei, Dom Dinis I (D Dinis signed the Tratato de Alcanizes which brought Alfaiates into Portugal).

 

 

Looking for the Castelo, we finally find it embedded in the streetscape, covered in scaffolding; it is closed for renovation. This castelo is not proud or solitary, it's integrated with the town – sharing its walls with the surrounding houses and shops. Peering over the white metal construction barriers, we see that the porta is not a fortified gate, but a modest doorway, not much taller than the port-a-potties. Above the door, cut into the masonry, is the heraldry of the Templars and the Monarchy, and a well-proportioned stone cross – the castelo dates from the twelfth century.

 

 

We are actually in search of a bakery that we heard about, near the Largo de Nossa Senhora de Póvoa. As we amble along the street, a local woman pops out of her house and asks us, in rapid-fire Portuguese, are we looking for bread? Shocked, we reply that we are, and she points us to her neighbor's house, shouting a morning greeting.

We meet Josef, an older gentleman with big dark glasses. He immediately waves us into his garage, which we realize is the bakery. He has two crates full of beautiful baguettes and loaves – one euro each. The smell of fresh-baked bread is thick in the air, mixed with the clanging of the bells worn by the sheep across the street.

 

 

The afternoon takes us to Sabugal, the nearest 'big city' (pop. 3,000 in 2011) to Alfaiates, the seat of the local municipal council, and part of the Beira (specifically, the Beira Alta). The drive is less than a half hour, and the castelo is impossible to miss.

Built on a high bank, inside a bend in the Côa, and framed with a riverside park, the Castelo do Sabugal is a fairytale vision. It features a five-sided torre de menagem (keep), pointy crenellations on the towers, beefy battlements on the lower walls, imposing Gothic doors, and stonework of varying textures and tones. The grounds are remarkably clean and easy to navigate, with plentiful parking around the pelourinho to the east of the castelo.

The small vila immediately surrounding the castelo is intact, and fills the slopes to the south and east. Though some of the structures are in ruin, there are small shops as well as the Museu do Sabugal that help preserve the medieval fabric and context.

Though quite tall, the castelo is not large, and the boundary is easily circumnavigated in a few minutes. The five-sided torre de menagem is its most distinctive feature, with a corbeled box-machicolation on each face. Additionally, on the southeast side there is some kind of gargoyle or scupper just above the balcony.

The tourist entrance is to the south, across a short ramp. The bilheteria is to the left, and the gatehouse to the right, with its own box-machicolation.

 

 

Within the walls, there is some kind of gathering or performance space, with a raised stage platform, and stepped stone seating. The rest of the inner bailey is simply dusted with orange sand. On each side, access to the upper parapet is provided by long stairways (thanks for the handrails!). There are corner towers on the north, east and west, and a flanking tower mid-way along the south-facing wall (Wikipedia says there are five square towers; there are not). The upper parapet allows entry to the torre de menagem, as well as the defensive towers.

 

 

The crenellations and arrow loops frame gorgeous views over the outer ramparts, the little ruined village, the hills, and farms – it is beautiful country. Inside the top of each tower is a smaller stone stair to take you to the very top. But there are no railings, and it's unnerving – so take your time, step cautiously, and relish each prospect.

 

 

 

 

Inside the torre de menagem, we enter a vaulted space with six ribs, which seems wrong given the five-sided geometry. One of the ribs actually intersects the stair 'arch' construction, in what looks a rather messy detail, like a bent rib, but one that has at least stood the test of time. The upper-level inside the keep clearly shows the five-sides of the tower. A wooden catwalk and stair has been added to give access to the top-most level, though we appreciate the way the spring blocks of the upper vault have been allowed to stay free and visible.

 

 

 

The very top of the keep is an open stone platform, though the crenellations make it difficult to appreciate the vista's sweep. We happily settle for a sequence of fragmented landscapes. But here the pentagonal form is most clear, and hosting Portugal's national flag, the Bandeira das Quinas, that number seems appropriate.

 

 

 

After the castelo, we stroll into the city in search of a late lunch. From the Largo Santa Maria de Fatima, we head down towards the Torre Sineira. Immediately we notice the cylinder of sticks wrapped around the bell tower's peak – the small cross seemingly telescoped out the top and listing to one side.

Again, the clean and geometric look of the 'nest' forces us to wonder if this is made by storks. Are there enough fish in the Côa to support a growing family of storks? And if it is a bird's nest, doesn't that threaten the health of the masonry? Is it a communal luck thing, like the feral cats?

 

 

Once past the Torre Sineira and through the gate, we enter the 'new' city. However, we quickly locate the Igreja Matriz de São João, which is on the order of three hundred years old. Warm and modest, and with a interesting suite of colored glass panels, it is the first church we've found that's been open.

 

 

Our last stop is the Museu do Sabugal. These small city museums deserve our support and a small amount of our time – if you want to learn the whole story of a place, check out the local museu.

The one thing we miss from the Museu do Sabugal is dates. Their object labels don't have dates; seems a silly omission. Regardless, we can 'visually' date Roman or medieval artifacts; the rooms here are broken into eras, but (as a museum and education professional) it feels a little lazy.

Back outdoors, the museum's jardim connects to the river park, and we take a few minutes to walk the river's edge, cross the pedestrian bridge, and take the loop around the Côa. At the Ponte Raínha Santa Isabel, we can observe an old stone walking bridge. The paths worn on either end suggest the crossing is still used by some. Just how old something like that might be is hard to say, but it is amusing to consider that it's in use – there's a perfectly good, solid and modern bridge right next to it. Perhaps this is a more recent construction (it can hardly carry horses or carts), but it looks the part, and tempted us enough to snap some pictures.