MARVÃO
N 39.39625; W 7.37748
It is the seat of a municipality with an area of 154.90 km² and 3 512 inhabitants (2011), subdivided into 4 parishes. The municipality is limited to the north and east by Spain, to the south and west by the municipality of Portalegre, and the northwest by Castelo de Vide.
Perched on a quartzite crag of the Serra de São Mamede, Marvão's name is derived from an 8th-century Muladi duke, named Ibn Marwan. Ibn Marwan, who constructed the Castle of Marvão - likely on the site of an earlier Roman watchtower - as a power base when establishing an independent statelet ("emirate", duchy) - covering much of modern-day Portugal - during the Emirate of Cordoba (884-931 CE). The castle and walled village were further fortified through the centuries, notably under Sancho II of Portugal (13th century) and Denis of Portugal.
The village has generated significant tourist interest in recent years. It was included in the #1 New York Times bestselling book, '1000 Places to see Before you Die'. Nobel prize-winning author José Saramago wrote of the village ‘‘From Marvão one can see the entire land... It is understandable that from this place, high up in the keep at Marvão Castle, visitors may respectfully murmur, ‘How great is the world.’’. In the 1950s, author Huldine V. Beamish wrote of Marvão 'There is an atmosphere about the district (of Marvão) that is very ancient. At times you have the same peculiar feelings as those evoked by Stonehenge and that amazing druid monument at Callernish in the Isle of Lewis. Picking your way along the steep stony pathways, you would not be at all surprised to meet a Phoenician trader or Roman Soldier. It would be the most natural thing in the world.
Marvão's natural assets have contributed to the 'uniqueness' of this remote village as perceived by visitors today: (i) as nigh-impregnable 'eagle's nest' fortress - perched high on a granite crag, and bordered on the south and west by the Sever river; (ii) as vital lookout-point towards the Alcántara Bridge (70 km (43 mi) away), a wide stretch of the Tagus basin and the Serra de Estrela; (iii) as a gateway to Portugal from Spain via the Porta da Espada ('Sword Gate') mountain pass of the Serra de São Mamede. These assets have ensured its status as the 'Mui Nobre e Sempre Leal Vila de Marvão' (Very Noble and Ever-Loyal Town) into the present day.
Convent of Nossa Senhora da Estrela /
Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Marvão /
Home of Santa Casa da Misericórdia
Portugal, Portalegre, Marvão, Santa Maria de Marvão
The Franciscan convent was founded in the century. 13, with the current building from the 16th century, adapted to Hospital de Misericórdia in the 19th century. 19. From the original design, resulting from the works of the century. 15, the cloister remains covered with ribbed vaults and torn by some broken arches. From the interventions carried out in the centuries. 18 and 19 stand out the corridors and outbuildings of the upper floor of the bodies that surround the cloister, such as the cloister or the kitchen and dining area, although with occasional changes, dating from the 19th century. 20. The hospital building is simple and of a vernacular nature and is identified with the typology of the Franciscan convents by the structure of the entrance and the lowered arch of the entrance, as well as by the layout of the various conventual facilities, although much altered concerning the layout. primitive. Inside the church, the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Estrela, founded in the 19th century, stands out for its opulence. 16, but with a Baroque decoration, the stone of arms, and the main altarpiece in stonework, similar to the one in the chancel.
