The Peace Tour – Alcáçovas/Évora Monte (Portugal), an initiative of the European Network of Places of Peace and the Municipality of Viana do Alentejo operated by the tour operator RSI-Viagens, Estremoz, will make its inaugural trip on Saturday, June 16.
The main purpose of the Peace Tour is to make known the places where the two Peace Treaties – the Treaty of Alcáçovas and the Convention of Evoramonte – were signed, which deeply marked the history of Portugal in the late 15th and early 19th century, respectively.
This is a one-day tour, to be held on Saturdays with planned departures from Lisbon (Gare do Oriente) and Évora (Portas do Raimundo/GALP), with the morning part dedicated to the village of Alcáçovas and the afternoon to be passed in the Castle of Evoramonte.
In Alcáçovas the participants will have the opportunity to visit the Paço dos Henriques, the recently recovered place where the Treaty was signed, the Garden of Shells annexed to the Palace and to attend a Historical Representation about the circumstances and the main consequences of the Treaty signed between King D Alfonso V and Prince D. João (future D. João II) by Portugal side and the Catholic Kings, D. Fernando and D. Isabel by Castile. There will be a visit to the factory Pardalinho Rattles, where visitors will be able to watch the Rattle Production, classified in 2015 as Intangible Heritage of Humanity, by UNESCO. Before lunch in a local restaurant with traditional Alentejo menu, visitors will still have the opportunity to get to know one of the most important economic activities of the village – the “Conventual Confectionery of Alcáçovas”.
After lunch, the tour will take the participants to Evoramonte Castle. Here, Tour participants will visit some of the most important examples of the Castle’s rich religious, civil and military patrimony: the Torre/Paço de Evoramonte, a national monument since 1911, unique in its style throughout the Iberian Peninsula, a work attributed to the Arrudas Architects by order of D. Teodósio and D. Jaime, the first Dukes of the House of Bragança; the Church of Santa Maria, currently dedicated to Nª. Sra. da Conceição, dating from the 12th century and the Chapel of Mercy built in the first half of the sixteenth century and in which highlights the central nave completely tiled with tiles from the mid-eighteenth century. In Evoramonte, participants will also attend a Historical Representation on the circumstances that led to the signing of the Convention of Evoramonte, between the liberals led by D. Pedro and the absolutists commanded by his brother D. Miguel and who put an end to the only civil war Portugal knew in its almost 900 years of history.
The Tour will end in the best way: a Thematic Dinner based on recipes collected by the well-known Portuguese Historian and Gastronomic Dr. Alfredo Saramago. Empadão de Pigeons Braves and Pork Loin with Honey and Rosemary will be the main dishes of a dinner served in environment of the time of the Convention.
Reservations can be made at the headquarters of RSI-Viagens in Estremoz or in the branch office in Évora (Edifício Santa Catarina, 12 – store 6), through the website www.rs-viagens.com, emails info.estremoz@rs-viagens. pt and info.evora@rs-viagens.pt or by phone +351 268 333 228 and +351 266 747 871.
