2 stops in walking order

Historic Site

Mértola, officially the Town of Mértola, is a town and municipality in southeastern Portuguese Alentejo near the Spanish border. In 2021, the population of the municipality was 6,206, in an area of approximately 1,292.87 square kilometres (499.18 mi2): it is the sixth-largest municipality in Portugal. Meanwhile, it is the second-lowest population centre by density with approximately 5.62 persons/1 square kilometre (0.39 mi2) (second to the adjacent Alcoutim). The seat of the municipality is the town of Mértola, which had around 2500 inhabitants at the time of the 2021 census, located on a hill over the Guadiana River. Its strategic location made it an important fluvial commercial port in Classical Antiquity, through the period of 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.

~20 min at this stop

Historic Site

Myrtilis Iulia was the Roman name given to present day Mértola, Portugal. During Classical Antiquity, Mértola was inhabited by Phoenicians, Carthaginians and finally the Romans, who called it Myrtilis Iulia. The region was inhabited at least since the Iron Age at least by the Conni and Cynetes and was influenced by the Phoenicians. 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. An account cited that the young Julius Caesar established a stronghold at Myrtilis during Pompey's governorship of Hispania. The settlement became an important bridgehead and jumping-off point for the Roman campaigns during the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. Between 1st and 2nd century, Myrtilis was part of the larger Pacensis region (under the capital Beja/Pax Iulia) and acquired a great importance, as a dynamic commercial centre, permitting it to mint its own coin.

~20 min at this stop