Mértola

Coordinates: 37°38′25″N 7°39′40″W / 37.64028°N 7.66111°W / 37.64028; -7.66111
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Mértola
Municipality
Mértola viewed from the opposite shore of the Guadiana, with the city wall and the medieval castle uphill
Mértola viewed from the opposite shore of the Guadiana, with the city wall and the medieval castle uphill
UTC±00:00 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+01:00 (WEST)
Local holidaySaint John
June 24
WebsiteOfficial website

Mértola (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈmɛɾtulɐ] ⓘ) is a town and municipality in southeastern Portuguese Alentejo near the Spanish border. In 2011, the population was 7,274,[1] in an area of approximately 1,292.87 square kilometres (499.18 sq mi): it is the sixth-largest municipality in Portugal.[2] Meanwhile, it is the second-lowest population centre by density with approximately 5.62 persons/1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) (second to the adjacent Alcoutim).

The seat of the municipality is the town of Mértola, which has around 2800 inhabitants (2011), located on a hill over the

Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Mértola's main church (the Church of Nossa Senhora da Anunciação) was the only medieval mosque
to have survived the period in Portugal.

In 2017 Mértola started the process to become a

UNESCO World Heritage Site.[3]

History

Mértola castle, Mértola, Portugal
Guadiana River
. The main church (igreja matriz), originally a mosque, is in the foreground.

Romans

Mértola was inhabited at least since the Iron Age at least by

Phoenicians and finally named Myrtilis Iulia by the Romans
.

The strategic location of Mértola, on a hill by the northernmost navigable part of the

Guadiana river, was crucial in its early development. Agricultural products grown in the villae nearby and valuable minerals (silver, gold and tin) obtained from the lower Alentejo region were sent from the fluvial port of Mértola via the Guadiana to Southern Hispania
and the Mediterranean.

Between 1st and 2nd century, Myrtilis, was part of the larger Pacensis region (under the capital Beja/Pax Julia), acquired a great importance, as a dynamic commercial centre, permitting it to mint its own coin.

Beja, Évora
) through a road system.

Germanic tribes

During the

Visigoths. In this period (5th-8th centuries) commerce was reduced but still active, as evidenced by Greek tombstones from the 6th-7th centuries found in Mértola which suggest the presence of Byzantine
merchants in the town.

Moors

Around the year 711, Hispania was invaded by the

Northern Africa
.

Mértola had a wall dating from Roman times, but the Muslims built new fortifications and, eventually, a castle to protect it from rival Muslim and

Almohad
army. The most important remnant from the Islamic period in Portugal is Mértola's ancient mosque, built in the second half of the 12th century and later turned into a church, but keeping original architectural characteristics.

Reconquista

In 1238, in the context of the

Military Order that played a vital role in the Christian conquest of Southern Portugal. The seat of the Order was established in Mértola until 1316. From the Reconquista time date most of the castle, including its mighty keep, and a letter of feudal rights (foral
), granted in 1254.The economic importance of Mértola and the Guadiana faded after that period.

In the 15th-16th centuries, when the Portuguese conquered several cities in the Maghreb, Mértola experienced a brief revival in its economic relevance, supplying Portuguese troops in Northern Africa with cereals. King Manuel I granted a new foral to the town in 1512.

Modernity

After a long period of economic stagnation, the discovery of

São Domingos Mine around 1850 led to a new wave of development that would end abruptly in 1965, when the mine was exhausted. In the next decades, the municipality lost much of its population, who emigrated to richer parts of Portugal and other European countries. Starting in the 1980s, a series of archaeological surveys brought to light various remnants of past periods of Mértola, and the town became an important cultural [6]
touristic site.

Geography

Population of
Mértola
(1849 - 2004)
YearPop.±%
1801 9,617—    
1849 10,757+11.9%
1900 18,910+75.8%
1930 26,310+39.1%
1960 26,026−1.1%
1981 11,693−55.1%
1991 9,805−16.1%
2001 8,712−11.1%
2004 7,996−8.2%
2011 7,274−9.0%

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 7 civil parishes (

freguesias):[7]

  • Alcaria Ruiva
  • Corte do Pinto
  • Espírito Santo
  • Mértola
  • Santana de Cambas
  • São João dos Caldeireiros
  • São Miguel do Pinheiro, São Pedro de Solis e São Sebastião dos Carros

Climate

Mértola has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with hot to very hot dry summers and mild wet winters.

Climate data for Mértola
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 15.0
(59.0) 		16.0
(60.8) 		19.0
(66.2) 		21.1
(70.0) 		25.5
(77.9) 		30.8
(87.4) 		34.0
(93.2) 		33.4
(92.1) 		29.8
(85.6) 		24.3
(75.7) 		19.0
(66.2) 		15.3
(59.5) 		23.6
(74.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 10.2
(50.4) 		11.1
(52.0) 		13.5
(56.3) 		15.5
(59.9) 		19.0
(66.2) 		23.3
(73.9) 		25.9
(78.6) 		25.7
(78.3) 		23.0
(73.4) 		18.9
(66.0) 		13.9
(57.0) 		10.9
(51.6) 		17.6
(63.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 5.4
(41.7) 		6.1
(43.0) 		8.1
(46.6) 		9.8
(49.6) 		12.5
(54.5) 		15.8
(60.4) 		17.8
(64.0) 		18.0
(64.4) 		16.3
(61.3) 		13.4
(56.1) 		8.8
(47.8) 		6.5
(43.7) 		11.5
(52.8)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 53.9
(2.12) 		54.5
(2.15) 		49.7
(1.96) 		32.1
(1.26) 		23.8
(0.94) 		15.4
(0.61) 		2.4
(0.09) 		1.2
(0.05) 		14.2
(0.56) 		55.9
(2.20) 		66.4
(2.61) 		65.4
(2.57) 		457.1
(18.00)
Source 1: weatherspark.com[8]
Source 2: INMG (precipitation 1957-1986)[9]

Culture

Main sights

  • The
    city wall
    , which still encircles the town.
  • Main church (the Matriz), was originally a mosque built between the 12th and 13th centuries. After the Christian conquest of the town, in 1238, the mosque was turned into a church, but its architectonic structure was preserved. In the 16th century the church was partially remodelled, gaining Manueline vaulting with a new roof and a new main portal in Renaissance style. Nevertheless, the inner arrangement of the naves of the church, with four naves and several columns, still resembles that of the original mosque, and in the church interior even the [mihrab] niche decorations pointing to Mecca for prayers, was spared from destruction. Outside, the church has four portals with horseshoe arches, typical of Islamic architecture. This is the only structure of the Islamic period, left mostly unaltered in Portugal.
  • The museum of Mértola, consisting mostly of archaeological findings and excavations, with collections distributed all over the town. The nucleus of Islamic art in the museum is the most important in Portugal. It consists of various objects (pottery, glassware, metalwork, coins) dating from that period. The collection is housed in the old cellars of the noblemen of the House of Braganza. Other exhibits include remnants of an ancient Christian church, of the basilica type, with an active cult lasting from the 5th to the 8th century. It has a large collection of palaeochristian tombstones with inscriptions; and excavations of a Roman house found under the Municipality building.

Festivals

Notable people

References

  1. ^ Instituto Nacional de Estatística
  2. ^ "Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país". Archived from the original on 2018-11-05. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  3. ^ "Mértola". Unesco.org. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  4. ^ C. Silva, Pedro, run.unl.pt (ed.), As Necrópoles da I Idade do Ferro do Baixo Alentejo – Contributo para o seu melhor conhecimento (PDF) (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: FCHS - Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, retrieved 10 December 2021
  5. ^ Costa, Anouk; Morgado, Cláudia; Vale, Rita (2010), SIPA (ed.), Núcleo urbano da vila de Mértola (IPA.00028113/PT040209040046) (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: SIPA – Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico, retrieved 17 April 2017
  6. ^ camertola.pt (ed.), The Museum Town of Mertola (PDF) (in Portuguese), Mértola, Portugal: Campo Arqueológico de Mértola, retrieved 10 December 2021
  7. ^ Diário da República. "Law nr. 11-A/2013, page 552 70" (pdf) (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  8. ^ "Average Weather in Mértola Portugal". weatherspark.com. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  9. ^ Pedro João Cruz Cortesão Casimiro, 1993. "Geo-biografia das mudanças de uso do solo" (PDF). NOVA University Lisbon. Retrieved 23 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Visit Mértola, past civilisations in Guadiana River banks, Alentejo (Portugal)". Retrieved 7 January 2019.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mértola&oldid=1156369899"