SISTERS

In Spain and Portugal, two small cities stand out for their heritage, culture and cuisine.

BY DARCY RHYNO

ÉVORA, PORTUGAL

SIPPING A GLASS of local red wine, I look around the walled courtyard of my historic guesthouse and spot the tree just beyond the pool. When I checked in, the friendly, third generation owners of the 18th century Casa do Escritor (Home of the Writer) invited me to help myself to an orange from the tree. It’s a warm January day in the southern Portuguese town of Évora – temperatures are in the mid-teens this week – and the ripe fruit hangs heavy on the branches. I pick one, peel it and bite into the juicy flesh. It tastes of sunshine.

This is my favourite time of year to visit the southern regions of the Iberian Peninsula. Évora lies 140 kilometres south of Lisbon. Sevilla is 530 kilometres south of Madrid, Spain. The peninsula is known for having the warmest winters in all of Europe. Évora is more like a large town and Sevilla a small city, but they have a lot in common beyond the mild climate – each has a rich cultural heritage, beautiful architecture and unique culinary personalities.

I have a particular fondness for Évora. It’s a cultural gem. The European Union recently named it the European Capital of Culture for 2027. Leaving my sunny spot at the guesthouse, I set out to explore. The history of this partially walled, easily walkable capital of the Alentejo region and a UNESCO World Heritage Site runs millennia deep. Founded by Celts, then ruled by Romans starting in 57 BC, Évora reveals itself in layers. Near the centre of town, I linger in the Roman temple of Diana. In 715, the Moors conquered Évora and stayed until the Portuguese took over in 1165. I tour the cathedral built a century later, then follow the eight kilometre, 500-year-old Prata Aqueduct to the edge of town where houses and shops are built between some of the arches.

As evening falls, I duck into a typical Alentejo restaurant. No reservations are required. No menu is offered. Mom might be in the kitchen, preparing the evening feast. Dad might be the sommelier, pouring a red, blended at a local winery just for him. I’m served a hearty meal starring slow-cooked porco preto, a regional pork dish distinctively flavoured by the animal’s diet of acorns from the Alentejo’s famous cork tree forests.

The next morning, I spend my last hours in Évora at the Home of the Writer. In the courtyard, I peel another orange, close my eyes and turn my face to the warming winter sun, savouring the flavours of summer. casadoescritorevora.com