Portugal: lily-white villages

From its rocky prominence, the village of Monsaraz has been scanning its surroundings since the Middle Ages. Today, it no longer awaits enemies, neither Moorish conquerors nor Spanish knights. The visitors are much more polite, tourists coming to find serene peace in the labyrinth of its fortified streets lined with houses of unchanging white.

The white villages of Portugal's Alentejo region are no different from their cousins in nearby Spanish Andalusia. Above all, they are white. White as white. Dazzling. Sunny. Some have a castle, some a convent and some a listed cathedral. With, as the case may be, stories of Roman and Moorish occupiers, sagas of knights and liberating kings, masterpieces of Mozarabic or Mudejar architecture and the horrors of the murderous Inquisition.

What's more, the history of this region, which covers almost a third of Portugal from the south of the Tagus to the Spanish border, dates back to the 4th millennium BC. At least, that's the story told by the mysterious megalithic monuments that abound in the area around Evora. They range from the exceptional and innumerable solitary dolmens and menhirs to vast gatherings of menhirs placed in a circle, such as the Almendres cromlech, which, with its 95 elliptical stones no doubt dedicated to the worship of the sun, is, along with Carnac, the most important complex in Europe left by Neolithic man.

This unique site further enhances the tourist appeal of Evora, one of Portugal's most beautiful cities. The capital of the Alto Alentejo is also remarkably well-equipped with meeting rooms, restaurants and top-of-the-range hotels. Its central location makes it a real hub for exploring southern Portugal. Groups inevitably start their tour with the King's share, lingering within the walls of this UNESCO World Heritage city, with its Roman, medieval and 18th-century walls.

It's easy to do, as the city is tiny. So you discover it step by step, strolling along the black and white cobblestones that are to some extent the signature of Portuguese urbanity. You leaf through your book of hours, taking in the craft shops on the 5 de outubro street and the terraces of the many cafés on the Praça do Giraldo. It is usually from here, in the calm of the early morning, over a coffee - one of the best in the world - and an assortment of pasteis that the tours begin. The guides inevitably take the opportunity to recount the history of Evora and the Alentejo. It's a speech that's usually far too precise for a neophyte listener, packed with dates, knights, kings, centuries, Jesuits, Manueline style... Hou là, là là !!!! It's too much, it's confusing.

Fortunately, the guides are aware of everyone's lack of knowledge of Portuguese history and, as teachers, prefer to back up their stories with concrete facts, stone and buildings. And in the case of Evora, after the ruins of the Roman temple, known as the Temple of Diana, built in the 1st century AD. the cathedral, consecrated in 1204, serves as a support. The style is a blend of Gothic and Romanesque, but it's the French-influenced central spire - or lantern tower - that really stands out. The view from here is superb. At its foot, the white city; all around, a sea of olive trees against a backdrop of cork-oak-clad hills, scattered farms and a few villages as white as they are compact.

"Remember that you are going to die".

However, when it comes to sacred art, it's not the Sé, the cathedral, that really stands out. It's something more hidden, more challenging, something that can only be saved with a good dose of humour, or even a laugh, even if it's yellow - in this case, the Capela dos Ossos. Portuguese is a Latin language, so it's immediately clear that it's about bones. But we never imagined there would be so many. Skulls, tibias, radii, ulnas... all perfectly arranged along walls punctuated by the roundness of the skulls and the stiffness of the tibias. What's more, these bones are witty, as they announce at the entrance for those who may have forgotten: "We, the bones here, are waiting for yours". A whole programme piled up in the taste of the end of the 16th century from the bodies of 5,000 people... After that, we'll be quite happy to return to life, youth and, to put it bluntly, a little levity.

So we head for the university, and what a university it is! In fact, it's a conservatory in its original state, inaugurated in 1559 and closed in 1759 after the expulsion of the Jesuits. Fortunately, the old lady reopened its doors in 1979 and today welcomes 7,000 students who, like all the students in the world, make the city lively, especially at night. During the day, they enrich their knowledge in this building, which is practically a museum with its myriad azulejos, the typical painted ceramics that mark the spirit of Portugal with all their blue, just as the white and black cobblestones do on the pavements. These tiles are everywhere. Notably on the walls of the old cloister, which alone is worth a visit, but also in the graduation room, the chapel and the classrooms, where they illustrate the subjects taught. These include rhetoric, mythology, science, philosophy and history. So there's no need to go to some kind of museum dedicated to tiles: everything is there, intact and magnificent. Because the University of Evora is very well-bred. Not a single graffiti mark. Everything is so clean, so polished, that it's almost too much. In any case, while the student world is undoubtedly a little stifled here, it's not the groups that will complain about the building's admirable grammar.

We said Evora was a hub. So let's get on with it, take the road and go back in the opposite direction in the evening. The remarkable sites, whether for their place in the country's history or simply for their beauty, are not so far apart. Along the way, you'll discover an unspoilt Portugal, light years away from the hustle and bustle of Lisbon. Villages silent in the morning and early afternoon, low houses with huge chimneys, old people nailed to the benches in public squares, a church and a bistro, haberdashers and wine merchants... it's all there. Just as it used to be.

The bucolic road passes through forests of cork oak from which the bark has been nicely stripped from the trunk. It's endless, immense, and Portugal is the world's leading exporter of cork. As a result, the groups take the opportunity to stop off at a factory where, amidst tonnes of cork - and God knows how much cork it takes to make a tonne - they are given an explanation of the cork-making process. They also visit the adjoining shop, which could feature prominently in the "chic shopping" section of a women's magazine. The surprise is that you can make anything out of cork: caps, shoes, umbrellas, handbags... all ultra-flexible, ultra-resistant, ultra-sophisticated. The only downside is the price.

Then come the olive groves, with their twisted trunks and silver reflections. Then there are the vineyards, because as many people in France don't realise, Portugal is not just the land of port wine, it's also the land of famous wines. Excellent, powerful vintages. So much so that in 2014, the USA Today newspaper named the Alentejo the best region in the world for wine tourism. The route of the white villages crosses the wine route, which obviously goes hand in hand with the gastronomy route, with the Alentejo boasting one of Portugal's richest culinary traditions. Even if it's a little rustic, and as you'd expect, doesn't care a fig about diet. However, following the example of Michele Marques, of the Gadanha restaurant in Estremoz, some particularly creative chefs are reinterpreting it and even going so far as to mix in all sorts of flowers. It's fresh, delightful and delicious.

The groups will stop off at their own tables, or they'll take over a roadside inn that's as popular as it gets, like Adega do Cachete, which has been semi-privatised for the occasion. There, they'll enjoy an informal meal of shark soup, sheep stew or pork ribs with pine cone purée. All followed by the exceptional Queijo Serpa, a cheese made from sheep's milk and protected by the European DOP quality label.

Let's divide this high Alentejo into two one-day tours - one to the south, the other to the north - and start the great white with Estremoz and its fairytale keep, undoubtedly the most beautiful in Portugal. Steep, tangled streets, low white houses topped with Moorish-inspired chimneys and almost total silence at siesta time. A few cats and nothing else, especially out of season. Then there's the very elegant Largo de Castello, on which stands the famous keep, built in the mid-thirteenth century by King Denis for his wife Isabella of Aragon. In a perfect state of preservation, it features battlements and machicolated balconies that you'd love to see cut through on a stormy evening, adding to the drama. Alas, the Alentejo is not renowned for its capricious skies, as the weather is fine 300 days a year. So, since the weather doesn't count for much, we take advantage of the opportunity to climb the terraces and take in a good part of the upper Alentejo. Sublime.

The pillory, a symbol

Before leaving the medieval town of Estremoz, it's worth stopping to admire an object planted in the centre of another square. This devilishly phallic object is very common in Portuguese cities, particularly those in the north. It's a pillory, usually very elaborate, sometimes a masterpiece of finesse, particularly in the Manueline period. Did such refinement help to conceal the session that took place there in the past, namely the exposure to public vindictiveness of thieves and criminals, but also of Jews suspected of having converted to Christianity? They have been around since the 13th century and operated, so to speak, until the 18th century. With a peak in activity during the Inquisition, which, as we all know, was no laughing matter. Then it's back to Evora, its central square still bustling with life in the evening, for a nightcap on the terrace of a semi-privatised café.

The next day, a tour of the cluster of white villages to the south of Evora. So white that the town of Serpa has made it its signature, almost its reason for living. So white, in fact, that the town of Serpa has made it its signature, almost its raison d'être, to the point of announcing on a few prominently displayed plaques that such and such a street was declared the whitest street in such and such a year. This lily-white town can be seen from afar, as Serpa, well protected by its 13th-century ramparts, dominates the swell of brown or soft green plains from the top of its promontory, depending on the season. It's a charming place to explore on foot, following the ramparts.

But if you're looking for a village perched on a rocky outcrop, with a sentinel castle and immaculate houses spread out at its feet, you'll have to look a little higher up, towards the jewel that is Monsaraz, one of the country's most remarkable sites. In a nutshell: a main street with uneven cobblestones leading to the castle, crossing streets blocked from end to end by the ramparts, low houses with shields, few restaurants, few souvenir shops, but who could complain?

In the end, you'll have to leave these silent villages behind one day and head for Lisbon airport. We could stop for a final rest on the even lesser-known Alentejan coast, where the dolphins frolic. Because there is an Alentejan shore. 40 km from the capital, just below Setubal. In fact, it's incredibly unspoilt, with almost 150 km of almost deserted beaches to the south of the mouth of the Sado. Extremely rare in Portugal.