The Caminhos de Santiago Alentejo e Ribatejo cross two very different territories: they differ in customs and traditions, in the way the people live, in the colour of the landscapes, in the experiences they offer. But even though they are different, they share a genuineness and singularity that makes them unique and differentiates them from all the others that help define the borders of the country.
To travel the Caminhos de Santiago Alentejo e Ribatejo hides the promise of an adventure, of unusual discoveries, of the unveiling of a story that memory has preserved, a story that unfolds at every step and which is today included on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
To get to know the almost 1,400 km of Caminhos de Santiago (Ways of Saint James) identified in Alentejo and Ribatejo is to relive that history in the marks that the passing of time was not able to erase, is to transform the traveller into the spectator of a narrative that is told in the material and immaterial heritage, in the lands, villages and curiosities, in the gastronomy, in the people and in their customs, those that have been and those that continue to be and, at the same time, in the player of the same, unable to resist to the charms that it unveils. More than just walking, cycling or driving your faithful equine, it is getting to know a land of unique and genuine but different landscapes, along two main itineraries and a growing number of variants:
- Caminho Português Central in Alentejo and Ribatejo (from which branches the Via Tejo which connects to the Way coming from Lisbon; and the Via Atlantico, which reaches the Vicentine Coast in ports with a historical presence of the Order of Santiago);
- Caminho Português Nascente in the Alentejo (which in Mértola branches off to the Caminho da Raia in Elvas, Vila Viçosa, Borba and Estremoz and receives the cross-border connection to the Via de la Plata from Badajoz).
The Order of Santiago was responsible for the conquest of a large part of the current portuguese territory, south of the river Tagus and promoted the main actions of settlement and socio-economic planning during the Middle Ages. In just two decades, the Order of Santiago became the most powerful owner of the kingdom, dominating a territory as vast as Samora Correia (Benavente) to Tavira and Almada to Aljezur.
In the south of the country, the large number of churches dedicated to Santiago is due to the conquering and organising action of the Order of Santiago, which left many other vestiges, such as the palaces of former commendators, castles that kept the memory of the knights who conquered them, the tombs of celebrated men of arms and religion, works of art sponsored by noblemen of high status in the spatarian hierarchy, structural traces in local toponymy, or simple and discreet property marks.
The gastronomic richness of the Alentejo and Ribatejo needs no great preamble. Here, adjectives will always fall short of the experience you have at the table, unable to rise to the level of the feelings it provides. Because the passage through these parts always includes another journey, that of flavours. Even so, it is through words that we will try to represent the best that is done in these two territories. Therefore, nothing better than to try, raise your glass and toast!
Caminhos de Santiago Alentejo e Ribatejo is, more than a journey, an experience that marks, that stays, that is kept. And that you want to repeat!