The old town of Beja, the Roman Pax Julia (of which some remains survive: foundations of walls on the north side of the town and a gate on the south side), is commandingly perched on a hill in the fertile plain of Baixo Alentejo. It is the largest town in Alentejo after Évora and is chief town of the district and an important commercial center, especially for agricultural produce. In recent years a number of modern and purpose-built hotels have been built around the Old Town. More stylish accommodation is available at the pousada opened in 1994 in the Convento de Sao Francisco; this is one of the most beautiful state-run hotels in Portugal.
Although the little town of Beja has no very remarkable sights to boast of its many fine old buildings and winding alleys lined with gleaming white houses, some of them with charming iron grilles, windows, doorways and covered arcades, make its old town well worth a visit on any tour of Portugal. The best place to rest after a sightseeing walk is the pretty little park or on the lawned area with a simple cafe on the Praça Diogo Fernandes. There are parking loting facilities in the center on the Largo dos Duques de Beja under tall trees near the convent.
Near the Castelo, beyond the Roman Évora Gate, stands the early Romanesque church of Santo Amaro. This oldest church in the town now houses a Visigothic Museum.
Past the Igreja da Misericórdia and above the town to the north is the massive Castle, built by King Dinis I about 1300 on the remains of a Roman fortress; it has a handsome crenellated tower, built partly of marble, from which there is a fine view; it is 40m/131ft tall, making it the highest castle tower in Portugal.
On the lower floors of the castle are a small chapel and a large room with magnificent stellar vaulting.
The Ermida de Santo André lies Southwest of the town center, on the main road to Lisbon. It was founded in 1162 in thanksgiving for the recovery of the town from the Moors.
At the northwest end of the Praça da República stands the church of the Misericórdia, which was originally built by the Infante Dom Luís in 1550 as a market hall and was later converted, by the addition of a chapel, into a church with a very spacious portico. The original function of the building, with its nine bays of vaulting which are borne on columns, can still be recognized.
Opposite the entrance to the Convento N.S. da Conceiçao cloisters an alley leads through the old town to the Praça da República, the focus of life in Beja and the site of a fine Manueline pelourinho (pillory column).
Diagonally opposite the Convento N.S. da Conceiçao is the church of Santa Maria (13th C.). Its main facade is decorated with four small towers linked by Gothic arches.
The busy little town of Aljustrel lies 23km/14mi north of Castro Verde (alt. 200m/655ft), with copper-mines, some of which have been worked since ancient times.
Almôdôvar (alt. 289m/948ft; pop. 2,500), 21km/13mi south of Castro Verde, has a 17th C. Franciscan convent with a beautiful cloister, and a Gothic and Manueline parish church which are worth seeing.
Address: Almodovar Tourist Office, Rua de Malpica , nº 2 7700-206 Almodôvar, , Portugal
25km/15mi west of Beja lies the little town of Ferreira do Alentejo (alt. 141m/462ft; pop. 6,000) with a 16th C. parish church and the church of the Misericórdia with a 16th C. retable.
Address: Ferreira do Alentejo Tourist Office, Av. Gago Coutinho e Sacadura Cabral 7900-551 Ferreira do Alentejo, P-7900-551 Ferreira do Alentejo, Portugal
Tradition has it that the battle of Ourique, when Afonso I Henriques won a decisive victory over the Moors in 1139, took place near the modest little village of Ourique, about 15km/9mi southwest of Castro Verde. The actual site of the battle is supposed to be Campo de Ourique, between Castro Verde and the village, although historians cast doubt on whether the battle actually happened so far south.
Address: Ourique, Jardim da Nora 7670 Ourique, Ourique , Portugal
About 8km/5mi southwest of Beja on the N 18 to Aljustrel and taking the right fork at Penedo Gordo are the excavated remains of a Roman settlement at Pisoes (baths, with mosaics, atrium, etc.).
Address: Pisoes, Herdade de Algramaça 7800 Beja, , Portugal
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Convent of the Conception
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Aljustrel, Portugal
Castelo, Beja
Castelo, Beja
