Description Mértola

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Mértola is a Portuguese village in the district of Beja, region of Alentejo and sub-region of Baixo Alentejo, with more than 2 000 inhabitants. The village is located on an elevation on the right bank of the Guadiana River, immediately upstream of the confluence of Oeiras riverside.

It is the seat of the sixth largest municipality in Portugal, with 1,292.87 km² in area and 7,274 inhabitants (2011), subdivided into 7 parishes. The municipality is limited to the north by the municipalities of Beja and Serpa, to the east by Spain, to the south by Alcoutim and to the west by Almodôvar and Castro Verde.

Venture on a journey through time and discover the legacy of history in the traces of the houses, in the singing of voices, in the crafts and sayings, in the aromas and tastes and in the faces of the people you meet along the way.

Evidence of an early settlement abounds throughout the county, the first vestiges dating back to the Neolithic period, five thousand years ago. Iberos, Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians arrive in Mértola, in an occupation whose motto was to control trade routes. The romanization of Mértola took place throughout the century. II BC, with the effective occupation of the territory, to take place in the second half of that century.

To see: Mosque; Castle Nucleus; Alcáçova; Islamic Nucleus; Paleocristan Basilica nucleus; Weaving Core; Roman nucleus; Sacred Art Center; Nucleus of Achada de S. Sebastião; Blacksmith's Forge; Torre do Rio; Clock tower.

The mining area of ??São Domingos, inserted in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, has been a sought-after site for the extraction of minerals since antiquity. The Route of the Ore evokes the recent past of the mine, in a path that runs through the streets of the locality of Mina de S. Domingos, the paths of the old mining complex, follows along the old railroad and culminates in the riverside village of Pomarão, where the old river port for the disposal of the ore was located.

Pulo do lobo is the heart of the Guadiana Valley Natural Park. In this waterfall of 16 meters (the main geological accident of this Greater Rio do Sul).

The discovery for those coming from Mértola, on the N265 road, is surprising: a vast level of clear and calm water surrounded by the shade of the trees and on one of the banks a river beach of white sand.