Santarém, capital of the Ribatejo, stands on a plateau overlooking the great alluvial plain of the Tagus, a land of horses, bulls, vineyards and fertile fields. It was Roman Scallabis and an important Arab town, taken by King Afonso Henriques in 1147 in a surprise night attack. In the Middle Ages it was often the seat of the court, and its wealth of churches from that era has earned it the nickname "capital of Gothic" in Portugal.
What to see
The finest spot is the Jardim das Portas do Sol, a garden built on the site of the old Arab fortress, within the walls, with a spectacular viewpoint over the Tagus and the plain. Among the churches, the most important is the fourteenth-century Graça church, with a large rose window carved from a single block of stone; here lies Pedro Álvares Cabral, the navigator who reached Brazil in 1500. The church of Santa Maria de Marvila is entirely lined with seventeenth-century azulejos, and the cathedral, a former Jesuit college, has a Baroque façade on the main square. The Torre das Cabaças is a curious medieval clock tower topped by a frame of clay pots. The Gothic São Francisco convent has been restored and hosts exhibitions.
25 April
Santarém has a special place in recent history: at dawn on 25 April 1974, Captain Salgueiro Maia set out from the Santarém Cavalry School with a column of armoured vehicles towards Lisbon, where he obtained the surrender of Marcelo Caetano's government in Largo do Carmo. It was the decisive moment of the Carnation Revolution. A monument in town commemorates him.
Festivals and food
In June the Feira Nacional de Agricultura is held, the country's leading agricultural fair, with horses, livestock, concerts and bullfights; in October and November the National Gastronomy Festival brings together cooking from every Portuguese region. Ribatejo food features stone soup (the sopa da pedra of Almeirim, a few kilometres away), meat, river fish and sweets such as pampilhos.
Getting there
Santarém is about 80 kilometres from Lisbon, reached by train (about an hour) or by car on the A1 motorway. Golegã, Almourol and Tomar are nearby.