QUINTA DE MALTA - DURRÃES, BARCELOS

Located equidistant between Barcelos, Braga and Viana do Castelo, Quinta de Malta is an agricultural property, whose origins date back to the beginning of the 16th century. Surrounded by ample gardens and enjoying an enviable panoramic view over the Neiva river valley, Quinta de Malta was restored, in 2004, to a guest house (Turismo de Habitação). There are numerous activities available to guests, such as swimming pool, tennis court, games room with snooker, sauna and gym.

The surrounding lands, where guests can walk around and rest, are occupied by vineyards where the traditional breeds of the region are made. Thanks to its architectonic characteristics typical of manors from Minho from the XVI and XVII centuries as well the historical significance it has, the house Quinta de Malta has been classified as patrimony of municipal interest.

Accomodation

  • 1 x Duplo Sup. - From 150.00€ / night
  • 1 x Single - From 85.00€ / night
  • 7 x Double - From 95.00€ / night
  • 3 x Twin - From 95.00€ / night

Features

  • Wine cellar
  • Air conditioned
  • Bar
  • Bicycles
  • Snooker table
  • Parking
  • Speak Spanish
  • Speak French
  • Speak English
  • Gym
  • Gardens
  • Fireplace
  • walking
  • Swimming Pool
  • Wine Tasting
  • Meals on request
  • Cards room
  • Conference room
  • Sauna
  • Tennis

Location

Rua Senhora do Loreto, 152

414 TH

A short distance away from Quinta de Malta you can find the “Caminho Português de Santiago” (The Portuguese Route to Santiago) and the “Ponte das Tábuas” (Bridge of boards), both are walked daily by several pilgrims going to Santiago de Compostela.

Quinta de Malta is on prime position for those wanting to discover a vast region, rich in patrimony, culture and nature. The main objective of Quinta de Malta is to give its guests a quality vacation where Portuguese hospitality is in abundance.

History of Quinta de Malta

Located in Durrães, Quinta de Malta is an agricultural property built during the beginnings of the 16th century. It was the location for many remarkable occasions on a regional level and an of great importance for the autonomy of the county from the Couto de Carvoeiro.

I used to house the Morgadio (oldest male son of the previous owner) for a long time. However because of its value while the morgadio tradition was in place male sons had an extremely high mortality rate which caused innumerable fights among the pretenders for the ownership of the lands, the arguments where so ferocious that several court cases concerning ownership were taken to the last consequences by the pretenders. Finally on March 21 of 1862 the most controversial person in Quinta de Malta's history - Ana Angélica da Cunha - made so that the tradition was abolished by illegal means. She then immediately sold what until then could only be given by succession. The buyer was Manuel Pereira Lima from Aborim.

After that the land changed its owner multiple times. Through time the house has suffered several changes, and unfortunately there are no records of the original. We know that on the second half of the 19th century many improvements were made under the orders of its owner at the time Mateus Pereira da Silva, and that was restored later on (somewhere around 1950) by Fernando Lima Dias de Almeida. Since then the house has been slowly falling in disrepair.

More recently when it was bought in 1996 by the current owners it was in such a state of disrepair that some parts were little more than ruins. The new owners decided to continue to use it for ("turismo de habitação" (Manor Tourism) since it was already been used for it since 1992.

This project had two great objectives: to keep the spirit and characteristics the house had and to give it all the comforts of a modern house. After exhaustive analyses of the house, the rebuilding started from which only the original walls remain.