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Portalegre |
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| Portugal > Tourism > Alentejo > Portalegre > Culture | |
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| GASTRONOMY |
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Portalegre |
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| Portugal > Tourism > Alentejo > Portalegre > Culture | |
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| GASTRONOMY |
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The appetisers are a must, with garlic sausage made from pork provided
by the herds that feed on the acorns and galls of the cork oak. Since
they are Alentejan, the soups are rich, full of vegetables such as beans
and cabbage, for they were the sole dish of the poorer people. Sopa
Gata, in turn, is spectacle of strong flavours provided by the flakes
of dried cod, garlic and red peppers and, if that were not enough, the
bread soaked in olive oil with an abundant sprinkling of parsley. |
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| cabbage accompanying baked dried cod or sprats (Gavião), maranhos,
stuffed belly of goat or sheep (Nisa), pluck soup (Castelo de Vide), roast
leg of lamb (Arronches), yellow rice (Alter do Chão) coxo frito
de borrego, or fried lamb (Campo Maior), the purslane and cheese soup
and the game dishes (Sousel), the river fish soups (Arronches, Avis),
the golden dried cod, or bacalhau dourado, and the shell fish (Elvas),
the mess of dog fish, the calves foot and tomato, the brawn and the grilled
Alentejan beef (Portalegre). Of the cheeses, the ewe's milk cheeses of Nisa; the wines the ineffable reds of Portalegre, fruity in flavour and so mature that they can accompany the almond and egg sweets. And it is with the old deserts of the convents - of unsurpassable quality in Portalegre - that the pleasures of the table come together. |
| HANDICRAFTS |
| The shepherds distilled their art from the endless days, in ingenuous pieces sculpted at leisure by knife from wood, cork and horn. Demijohns are still covered in wicker in the towns, bulrushes are woven into chairs, osier and wicker made into baskets and, to sit by the fireside, cork stools are made. Saddlers and harness makers draw inspired designs on leather that they can cut, sew braid and decorate, Hot iron is still struck by true artists at Castelo de Vide. Ceramics are painted. Beautiful bedspreads are woven in Belver and, in Campo Maior, words have already been outworn in describing the flowers made by the whole population. |
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| FESTIVALS |
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The cultural roots of rural work survive in the fairs, festivals and popular gatherings. Following the consolidation of spring, during April, the celebration of Easter marks the beginning of the restive season. Easter is the queen of festivals in Castelo de Vide, where absolutely original Judaic-Christian tradition is witnessed each year by thousands of tourists. May is the month of flowers, which brings the pilgrimage to Our Lord of the Afflicted and the well attended Festivals of the City of Portalegre. The patron saint is commemorated everywhere, bringing to surface a peculiarly Alentejan religiosity. |
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The Nisa cheeses are cured by June and are sold at the local fair. Saint John is celebrated at Arronches and in Alter do Chão the Horse Festival. August is the month for Crato at its Handicrafts and Gastronomy Fair, the stage of this district for quality musical events. September brings with it the end to the summer and an end to the popular festivals. The artists of Campo Maior once again display the colours of their souls in the Festival of Flowers. Souselcaça fits out its shooting community, while in Elvas "On St. Matthew's true waters are the first". And it is because chestnuts are an Autumn fruit that Marvão brings the season to a close in November |
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| Portugal > Tourism > Alentejo > Portalegre > Culture | |
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Culture |