Beautiful and Ancient Portugal – Aldeia Histórica de Castelo Rodrigo (Historic Village of the Castle Rodrigo)

 

Courtesy of Maravilhas de Portugal

This Medieval village, built on top of an isolated hill, 820 meters above sea level, offers a splendid view over the fields and hills around. This ancient walled town, fully recovered under the Historical Villages Recovery Program, shows signs of human occupation dating back to the Paleolithic age. Although the county seat has passed to Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, the village still has many places of interest, such as the mother church, founded by the Hospitaller Brothers in 1192 and dedicated to Our Lady of Rocamador; the tank, served by two gates, a Gothic and Moorish another; the pillory and the clock installed on an old tower. You can see how the castle ruins reveals the anger of the population when, at the end of the reign of Philip II, burned the old palace of Cristóvão de Moura, one of the defenders of Spanish legitimacy lusitania land.