Things to do in Evora District, Alentejo: The Best Museums

Located in the village of Arraiolos, one hour away from Lisbon, Monte da Ravasqueira has maintained a three-generation link to the Jose de Mello family since 1943. The vast area of typical Alentejo landscape and the unique geological and climatic conditions found here led Jose Manuel de Mello to believe that Monte da Ravasqueira had everything to be a producer of high-quality wines. Today, Monte da Ravasqueira extends over approximately 3,000 hectares, 45 of which are dedicated to vineyards. In keeping with the quality and character of its wines, blending tradition, innovation, and dedication to the art and science of winemaking. Monte da Ravasqueira also develops other activities related to cork, cattle, fattening of the Alentejo black pig, as well as the production of honey and olive oil, besides the wine tourism activities such as especially designed wine tasting, courses, and visits.

The Observatorio do Lago Alqueva – OLA (Lake Alqueva Observatory) is an astronomical observatory next to the medieval village of Monsaraz. OLA offers almost daily tours of the magnificent night sky of Monsaraz, where one can learn the orientation by the North Star, identify the constellations and know their legends, relate stellar colours with their ages, observe star clusters, nebulas and distant galaxies with the help of telescopes. The explanations are presented with clear examples and language by OLA’s guides. When the weather is cloudy, we resort to a simulation using astronomy software. The observatory also promotes courses on astronomy and astrophotography and has a vast program of outreach talks and activities for the general public, schools and senior groups.

The official Dark Sky® Alqueva Observatory in Cumeada, a village near Reguengos de Monsaraz, is equipped with cutting-edge telescopes for solar and astronomical observations. These provide for a unique visual experience, from observing the planets to looking at the craters on the moon, moving on to the deeper sky with a cosmic journey among the nebulae, the galaxies and the swarms of stars.

The collections of the Museum of Evora consist of about 20 thousand pieces, which highlight the collections of Painting, Sculpture and Archaeology. Besides the aesthetic value and historical importance of many works, the only condition is the panorama of museums in Portugal, the fact that its core come from an eighteenth-century collection of great diversity and inclusiveness, organized by Frei Manuel of the Upper Room, Archbishop of Evora. It is in the organization of the collections system, in order to articulate all fields of knowledge, which expresses the thinking Library-Museum and its educational function in the second half of the eighteenth century in Portugal. This initial condition and this universalistic core also part of the collections of Numismatic unfortunately looted during the French invasions, the collections of drawings and prints, and the core of Naturalia, where they meet several specimens of Natural Sciences. The extinction of the religious orders contributed significantly to extend the estate, benefiting from the collections of Painting and Sculpture, and Decorative Arts with the constitution of several nuclei important as jewelery, ceramics, furniture and textiles. Conducting numerous archaeological excavations during the twentieth century, especially on the Prehistory and Roman times, has enriched the Museum's collection, deepening the relationship with the history of the city and the region.