Mértola Castle

Occupying the high ground in town overlooking the valley below is the castle and remains of the old walled town. The current castle was built in the 13th-Century on the foundations of a Moorish citadel (alcáçova), which in turn was constructed over a Roman fortress. A small fee gets you through the arched gateway and winding entrance into the inner ward overlooked by the mighty keep (Torre de Menagem). Inside there's a pleasant museum that exhibits a collection of architectural artefacts dating from between the 6th and 10th centuries BC. The keep maintains some vestiges of its Moorish origins and a climb to the top will be rewarded with breathtaking views.

Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora da Anunciação

The parish church at the foot of the castle sits on ground that has been holy since the 4th Century. Once a Roman temple stood here and an early Christian church before the moors built a Mosque. Following the Christian Reconquista in 1238, Knights from the Order of Santiago converted the building into a church. Remnants of its previous incarnations are still evident inside and in the basement of the old 16th-century sacristy, you can see the building’s foundations and various phases of its occupation.

Mertola is often referred to as a "Museum town" (vila museu) because of the abundance of archaeological treasures unearthed here. The first traces of human habitation dates back five thousand years to the Neolithic period. During the bronze age, the area was populated by peaceful agricultural people we call today the Iberians. Later occupating cultures include the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans. Rather than housing the town treasures in one large dedicated museum, Mortola has its heritage dispersed across various museum sites.
€2.00 Single Museum, €5.00 All Museums

Contact Details:
+351 282 457 077 | museums@cm-mertola.pt | Website

Palaeo-Christian Basilica Museum (Museu Paleocristã)

North of the old town, an on-site excavation in the 1980s uncovered the structures of a huge palaeo-Christian basilica occupied between the 5th and the 8th centuries. Nextdoor the remains of an ancient cemetery from the same period were also unearthed. It was also used in the Islamic period (late 8th century-1st half of the 13th century). Some of the graves remain unsealed. Efforts to preserve the site include the construction of a building to integrate the two sites.

The location features a partly reconstructed line of columns, a Roman cryptoporticus and a 6th-century baptistery. Other finds include Roman funerary art from the Roman and late Roman periods excavated from beneath a small chapel dedicated to Saint Sebastian built in the 16th century. Here too is a collection of funerary stones, some of which are beautifully carved with birds, hearts and wreaths.

Tuesday – Sunday: 09h00 - 12h30/14h00 - 17h30, Monday: CLOSED
Largo do Rossio do Carmo 10, 7750-332 Mértola, Portugal. | 37° 38' 26.5" N | 07° 39' 42.9" W

Roman House

Tragedy struck the Town Hall in Mérola in 1982 when it burned down. During reconstruction two years later the remains of a Roman Villa were found under its foundations dating from the 1st-4th century. Architectural plans were altered to preserve the site and objects found there.

Tuesday – Sunday: 09h00 - 12h30/14h00 - 17h30, Monday: CLOSED
Praça Luís de Camões, 7750-351 Mértola, Portugal. | 37° 38' 12.0" N | 07° 39' 50.6" W

Islamic Art Museum

Located within an 18th-century building and positioned next to Porta da Ribeira, the Islamic Art Museum is the result of years of dedication to collecting and studying artefacts from the Islamic period, most of which were unearthed during archaeological excavations at the Alcáçova de Mértola (Mértola Alcazaba). On display are items from between the 9th and the 13th centuries and include a variety of objects, with an emphasis on architectural elements, tombstones, as well as everyday ceramic objects, most notably objects decorated using the dry rope technique, metals, and metal alloys, glass and carved bone.

Tuesday – Sunday: 09h00 - 12h30/14h00 - 17h30, Monday: CLOSED
Largo da Misericórdia, 7750-333 Mértola, Portugal. | 37° 38' 08.8" N | 07° 39' 53.3" W