Jul 9, 2025
The return of Portuguese tiles. Yes, from Ílhavo.
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The return of Portuguese tiles. Yes, from Ílhavo.
Na Aldeia
“Tinham começado a descer a congosta. Era uma rua estreitíssima, que cheirava a burros, a porcos e a fumo de ramos verdes. Dela partiam outras tortuosas vielas, que terminavam em pátios ou dobravam em cotovelos, cruzando-se, avançando para sombrios recantos, numa sugestão de labirinto.”
Ferreira de Castro, “A Lã e a Neve”; fotografia de Artur Pastor.
A beautiful mural in Vila Velha de Rodão, Lower Beira, Portugal.
Nine completely random details and outtakes from a mildly interesting Portuguese town called Vila Velha de Rodão... and yes, on the olden days, the name of this place was written like that: Villa Vellha de Rodam.
This rather humble temple is the Parish Church of Vila Velha de Rodão, also known as Church of Our Lady of Conception. Built in the mid-XVI Century, this house of God was extensively restored circa 1595 (in the early years of Portuguese Plain Architecture) and in the XVIII Century (during the Baroque era).
This is the chapel of Our Lady of the Castle, built nearby the Castle of the King Wamba, on the outskirts of Vila Velha de Rodão. It was (probably) built ner the end of the XVI Century.
According to the popular legend, this chapel was built by a local boatman as a payment for a promisse while crossing the River Tagus, near the Gates of Rodão. Probably, the crossing went terribly wrong, and, in a hour of need, the men asked for the protection of the Virgin; once he was safe, he did not forgot his promisse... at least, assuming that this story from the local folklore is actually true.
The mouth of River Enxarrique, in the north bank of the River Tagus, in Vila Velha de Rodão.
The Enxarrique is just a small tributary of the longest river of the Iberian Peninsula. However, in this very place, lived (and died), 30000 years ago, the last elephants of Europe, the Straight-tusked elephant; to put it in comparison, the Elephas antiquus became extinct in the British Islands 115000 years ago.
River Tagus (Tejo, in Portuguese) near Vila Velha de Rodão: nine leftovers.