PROGRAM:

Morning: Pavia

Pavia and Mora are small towns in the Alentejo region marked by the presence of megalithic heritage, a testament to the first human communities that inhabited this area.

• A visit to the Anta-Chapel of São Dinis , an impressive dolmen transformed into a Christian place of worship, a unique example of the overlapping of spiritual practices over millennia.

• A visit to the Interactive Museum of Megalithism , a space that allows one to understand the symbolic, social, and spiritual meaning of dolmens and menhirs, as well as the funerary and ritual practices of the region's first agro-pastoral communities.

Lunch at a local restaurant included.

Afternoon: Mora and Brotas

• A visit to the Mora River Aquarium , a facility dedicated to freshwater ecosystems, which showcases the biodiversity of Portuguese rivers and streams and the challenges of environmental conservation.

Brotas is a small village marked by a strong religious tradition and a landscape of great serenity.

• A visit to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Brotas , one of the oldest and most emblematic places of devotion in the Alentejo region, with medieval origins. Associated with legends of Marian apparitions and deeply rooted practices of popular religiosity.

In the late afternoon, I return to my place of origin.

Guide: Prof. Natália Nunes

Natália Maria Lopes Nunes, professor, PhD in Medieval Portuguese Literature. Post-Doctorate in the area of Secular and Mystical Literature of Gharb al-Andalus.

Author of books and numerous articles on medieval literature and al-Andalus, Islamic and Christian mysticism, and traditional/oral literature, as well as the Arab and Islamic legacy.

At FCSH-UNL (Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities - University)

(New from Lisbon), she has taught free courses on “The Poetry of Gharb al-Andalus”, “The Arab and Islamic Heritage of al-Andalus”, “Introduction to the Arabic Literature of al-Andalus”, and “History and Culture of al-Andalus”. She is also an integrated researcher at IELT (Institute of Studies of Traditional Literature - heritage, arts and cultures) and a collaborator at IEM (Institute of Medieval Studies). At FLUL (Faculty of Letters of Lisbon), she collaborates with CH (Center for History).