Alentejo

The agricultural heart of Portugal, the Alentejo makes half of the country’s wine and much of the world’s cork. Its dramatic landscapes, slow living and Portuguese soul are attracting visitors from all over the world.
Until recently, the Alentejo (“beyond the Tejo” in English, referring to the region south of the river that passes through Lisbon) was overlooked by all but the most adventurous visitors. The biggest section of Portugal and also the least populated, it’s a warm, dry region of rolling hills, farmland and cork forests, and also of medieval hill towns and majestic castles.
The Romans left behind an array of ruins, especially in cities like Évora, with its huge aqueduct and temple dedicated to Diana, and the white city Estremoz, where there are often artifacts (and local marble) underfoot. After the Romans left, the Visigoths and the Moors ruled the region until the Jesuits arrived in the 16th century. They boosted the region’s winemaking tradition and transformed cities like Évora, the baroque Montemor-o-Novo and the royal city of Vila Viçosa, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But the Alentejo’s history didn’t end in the 17th century. Rather, it’s still being made, with a host of high-end tourism projects, new museums and creative gastronomic endeavors.
To be sure, the Alentejo has long been Portugal’s gastronomic soul. The region is large—almost one-third of Portugal—and fertile. The food is generally rustic, emphasizing ingredients like sheep’s cheese, homemade sausages, acorn- fed black pork, salted cod, wild mushrooms and asparagus. Every town has its own specialty, and particularly its own sweets, many ofwhichhavetheiroriginsinhistoricconvents. The region also produces half of Portugal’s wine, and some of its vintages are increasingly being recognized and sought out on the world stage—the most expensive wine ever produced in Portugal was recently made in the Alentejo. It’s little wonder that the region is increasingly being touted as the new Tuscany.