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- This article is about Portalegre, Alentejo, Portugal. You may be looking for Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Portalegre (pron. IPA *) is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 447.1 km² and a total population of 24,756 inhabitants.
The municipality is composed of 10 parishes, and is located in the District of Portalegre.
The present Mayor is José Mata Cáceres, elected by the Social Democratic Party.
Its name comes from the Latin Portus Alacer (meaning "dry port").
The municipal holiday is May 23.
Parishes
- Alagoa
- Alegrete
- Carreiras
- Fortios
- Reguengo
- Ribeira de Nisa
- São Julião
- São Lourenço (Portalegre)
- Sé (Portalegre)
- Urra
History
Portalegre was founded in the reign of Afonso III, in 1259. It was to be given to his bastard son D. Afonso Sanches.
In D. Diniz' reign, by a foral of the 18th of November, 1299, it was determined that Portalegre would be donated to the king himself and later to his first born and heir.
Portalegre was elevated to the status of city on the 23rd of May, 1550, by D. João III. At this time, the city was regarded as an important administrative and economic centre. In the 15th century, it was already recognized for its cloth manufacturing.
As it is near the frontier with Spain it always suffered lots of invasions from foreign troops: in 1704 (during the War of the Spanish Succession), it was attacked and conquered by the army of Felipe V; again in 1801 during the War of the Oranges, it surrendered to the Spanish Army, this way trying to counter the French dominion. In 1847 it was occupied by forces of Spanish General Concha.
The importance of Portalegre would come to be recognized in 1859, when it became capital of the district of Portalegre.
The City
In 2001 census the city of Portalegre had 15,768 inhabitants in 2 its two parishes (Sé and São Lourenço), this 2 parishes plus the 8 rural parishes had a total of 25,608 inhabitants.
The municipality has an area of approximately 424 km² and is located in the heart of a Natural Park (the Natural Park of S. Mamede). The urban perimeter comprises a strong industrial tradition, the textile industry began in the 17th century, when the Robinson Factory of Cork was built. In 1947 the Manufactory of Portalegre Tapestries (which have a unique knot) soon became the ex-libris of the City, due to the artistic work (the tapestries are based on paintings). Amongst other traditions there is one called the parade of the "Maias", children dressed in white covered with yellow flowers, walking through the city's narrow streets singing "Maia".
Other Features
The house-museum of José Régio, a famous Portuguese poet, was installed in his home, in which he lived for 34 years. When Régio was accepted at the high school of Mouzinho da Silveira, in Portalegre, this place was a hostel. It was previously an annex of the convent of S. Brás, of which there are still some vestiges, namely the chapel. It also served as a headquarter when the peninsular wars were fought, but it was later named Pensão 21.
José Régio rented a humble room and, as he needed more space (he collected several works of art, amongst which more than 400 representations of Christ), he would rent more space. So, as time went by, he finally became the only inhabitant of the hostal. In 1965, he sold his collection to the municipality of Portalegre with the condition of it buying his house, restore it and transform it into a museum. He lived there until he died, in 1969. The museum opened to public in 1971.
External links
Cities in Portugal | Municipalities of Portugal
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"Portalegre"