Portugal has its history in cinematographic scenarios – 07/06/2023 – Tourism

What do Pedro Álvares Cabral’s homeland and “Casa do Dragão”, a series derived from “Game of Thrones”, have in common?

Both Belmonte, where the Portuguese explorer who landed in Brazil in 1500 was born, and Monsanto, the village that became the location for the new series that succeeded the most successful one on HBO, are little-explored destinations in the central region of medieval Portugal.

The 300 km zone located between Porto and the capital Lisbon is home to 12 historic villages, wine regions and the Serra da Estrela National Park. “It’s an area with a network of villages preserved over centuries with castles and fortresses”, says Pedro Machado, president of the Regional Agency for Tourism Promotion of Central Portugal.

Villages with their buildings in granite add to another 23 built with schist, black stone used in buildings typical of the area.

Named historic villages from 1995 onwards, they were created by the will of successive kings in the Middle Ages to populate and defend the territory bordering Spain.

And so a series of fortifications such as the one at Monsanto were built, set high on a hillside. A cinematic setting, literally. The fortress dates back to the time of the Knights Templar. Known as “the most Portuguese village in Portugal”, it was taken over by the “Casa do Dragão” film troupe in October 2021.

With 800 residents, Monsanto was chosen to tell the story of House Targaryen, 300 years before the events of “Game of Thrones”. It is called “the city of stones”, thanks to the giant granite blocks scattered among the buildings and steep hills, perfect for the universe created by George RR Martin in “Fogo e Sangue”, the book that originated the series.

Spectators, readers and simple tourists can enjoy the local castle on top of the mountain, the Pedra do Dragão of fiction, with a spectacular view of Serra da Estrela. It takes physical preparation to reach the top, accessible only on foot.

For the locals, filming was an inconvenience. The owner of the restaurant Petiscos & Granitos, João Salgueiro, says he is not a fan of the series. “We couldn’t open the doors during the recordings”, says the owner of the friendly tavern, where you can taste lamb ribs (sheep up to one year old).

Actors and technicians missed the chance to visit the local bathroom, which overlooks an immense rock torn from the mountain, converted into a natural wall of the environment. A little above the restaurant, there is a house that looks like something out of the cartoon “The Flintstones”, with a block of stone serving as a roof.

The series brought more visitors, who found archaeological remains in and around Monsanto dating back to the Roman occupation and the conquest of the site by Dom Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal. The monarch expelled the Moors from there in 1165. The walls, caves and chapels bear witness to this past, as does the castle built by the Knights Templar in the 12th century.

The gateway to the region is the city of Viseu, which was also reconquered from the Moors, and whose attraction is the imposing Gothic cathedral.

“The villages are a walk beyond the famous destinations in the region, such as Coimbra, known for the oldest university in the world, and Fátima, center of religious pilgrimage”, says guide José Manuel Domingues Santos, from Madomis Tours.

For Brazilians, a must visit is Belmonte, where the flags of Portugal and Brazil fly from the castle tower, in homage to Cabral. A few meters away is the square with the bust of the nobleman, protagonist of the Age of Discoveries.

In this historic footprint, you arrive at Tomar, with its magnificent convent with eight cloisters, where the history of the Knights Templar in the Iberian peninsula can be relived. The Convent of Christ is a well-preserved monumental structure, as is the Pegões Aqueduct, built in 1593 with 6 km of extension to supply the cloister.

Another stop is the Monastery of Alcobaça, a UNESCO heritage site since 1989. The tombs of Pedro and Inês, protagonists of the tragic love story, rest in the almost 900-year-old building. Alcobaça breathes the Lusitanian version of “Romeo and Juliet”, dedicating to the couple Pedro 1º (from Portugal) and his posthumous queen, Inês de Castro, a romantic itinerary through the streets of the city.

It is an opportunity to understand the plot that led to the expression “now, Inês is dead”. Pedro’s father, King Afonso IV, did not approve of the prince’s romance with his future wife’s lady-in-waiting. The king and his advisors then decided to kill the Spanish Inês, a threat to the Portuguese royal lineage.

“After ascending the throne, Pedro would have unearthed the body of his beloved to be crowned and taken to Alcobaça, where they rest together forever”, reports Sônia Vicente, tourism technician for the municipality. A legend that is in the Portuguese imagination and in “Os Lusíadas”, by Camões.

In the circuit dedicated to the couple in the center of Alcobaça, works of art in ceramics and porcelain tell the love story. Paths that translate the Lusitanian soul and the echoes of a medieval Portugal.

_{The journalist traveled by invitation Regional Agency for Tourism Promotion of Central Portugal}

WHERE TO STAY

Viseu Charming Spa Hotel
R. do Hospital 3500-161, Viseu. More information.

Republic Hotel
Republic Square, 2300-550, Tomar. More information.

Montebelo Monastery of Alcobaça Historic Hotel
R. Silvério Raposo, 2460-075, Alcobaça. More information.