Portalegre

During the Roman occupation the town was known as Amoea . Its history links the town with many military actions and the different armies have occupied it. The Portuguese King Dom Dinis in his dynastic struggles in 1299 spent over 5 months besieging the occupants before they surrendered. In 1704 it suffered another shorter siege when the British troops under Stanhope were taken prisoner. During the winter of the Peninsular War (1808-1814) against the French it was again used as quarters for the British troops assisting the Portuguese.

Portalegre is a town located close to the border of Spain that has strong religious background and this is evident by the number of churches and monasteries dating from the 13th Century.