On road N 247 in the direction of Sintra, 10 km from Ericeira, you will find the village of Odrinhas and its Archaeological Museum.
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Museu Arqueológico de São Miguel |
The collection in this modern archaeological museum dates back to the mid-16th century, when a group of Humanist scholars began to collect and to classify their archaeological findings. The modern museum fits in perfectly with the traditional architecture and the surrounding countryside.
The site includes a number of Roman patios and other ruins, covering a total area of 15,000 square meters, of which 3,000 m² is indoors. You can see namely the ruins of the Roman villa of São Miguel de Odrinhas and the megalithic sanctuary of Monte da Barreira, comprising a large number of tumuli, cromlechs and menhirs. The permanent exhibition includes a number of Etruscan, Roman, Visigoth and Portuguese inscriptions. There is also an archaeology section containing objects from the mid-Palaeolithic period through to recent times. The prehistoric and Roman collections are of particular interest.
Open from 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00, every day except Monday.
You then continue towards the town of Terrugem where, after the church, there is a turn to the left and a road to Alcolombal. There you can visit the "Quinta de Santa Colomba", a property where there is a bullfighting museum. More than 80 000 objects are exposed there and recall the history of Portuguese bullfighting. Open from 9:00 to 18:00.
Then you take the road to Sintra again until you reach a junction on the left, towards Lisboa. Approximately 1,5 km from there, there is another junction where you turn left towards Pêro Pinheiro. This city is known thanks to the quarries situated in this region. Today, Pêro Pinheiro
is the country's centre for the processing and marketing of stone, not only marble but also granite, limestone, schist.
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Carreira de mármore |
In Pêro Pinheiro you can visit the International Centre of Sculpture, which is open to artists and to all those who are interested in art. Its objective is to promote Portuguese sculpture in Portugal and abroad.
This centre has open workshops for the artists, and anybody who is interested, and also presents a permanent sculpture exhibition. Open Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 20:00. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays open from 14:00 to 20:00.
Lunch in Negrais a few kilometres from Pêro Pinheiro.
