Santa Maria da Feira lies about 30 kilometres south of Porto, in the district of Aveiro. Its name recalls the fairs held here since the Middle Ages, and the town is dominated by one of Portugal's finest castles.
The castle
Santa Maria da Feira castle stands on a wooded hill in the centre of town. Built on older fortifications and remodelled in the fifteenth century, it is one of the country's most complete examples of medieval military architecture: a great square keep with four corner towers crowned by conical spires, walls, a barbican and a fortified gateway. According to tradition, in 1128 the nobles who backed Afonso Henriques before the battle of São Mamede gathered here. You can visit the inner halls and climb the towers for views over the town.
The Viagem Medieval
Every year, for about ten days between late July and August, the town hosts the Viagem Medieval em Terra de Santa Maria, one of Europe's largest historical re-enactments: the old centre and castle park become a medieval town, with thousands of costumed performers, tournaments, processions, markets, taverns, musicians and shows, each year devoted to a different period of Portuguese history.
The town
In the centre are the sixteenth-century Lóios convent, home to the municipal museum, and the Baroque church with its monumental staircase. The local sweet is fogaça da Feira, a tower-shaped sweet bread with four points, carried in procession at the Festa das Fogaceiras on 20 January in honour of St Sebastian, linked to a sixteenth-century vow against the plague. The municipality is one of the world centres of cork processing, with large factories. Nearby are Europarque, a congress and events centre, and Lourosa Zoo, devoted to birds.
Getting there
Santa Maria da Feira is about half an hour from Porto by car (A1 or A41) or bus; the narrow-gauge Vouga railway links it to Espinho.