Castelo Branco feels like a small town, with its broad plazas, cafes, little shops, restaurants and gardens but it is actually quite large and the administrative center of the Beira Baixa region. High above the town are the restored white walls of the 16th century castle that gives the town its name.
Close to the middle of town is the former palace of the Bishops of Castelo Branco with their fully restored and well tended baroque gardens designed in the 18th century. These hillside gardens, built on two levels, incorporated the best elements of symmetry and scale and are remarkable even for Portugal, which is filled with outstanding gardens.
Laid out in formal beds bounded by sculpted hedges, the garden is terraced and punctuated by statuary. A fountain and pool in an elaborate arabesque shape are the focal point at the center of the main section and another water feature is a pool with baroque planters intertwined.
Statues of Kings and Apostles
Setting these gardens apart from others are the stairways lined with statues of the twelve apostles and of the Kings of Portugal (those up to the time of the building of the garden). This kingly statuary includes the kings from the period of the Spanish domination of Portugal, and as a tongue-in-cheek slap at the Spanish, those kings are smaller than the Portuguese kings. Beautiful azulejos, the decorative blue tiles common to Portuguese buildings and gardens, line the stairs to the street level and the walls of this lower garden.
A Museum in the Bishop’s Palace
Next to the gardens the Episcopal Palace, once home to the bishop, is now the Museu Francisco Tavares Proença Júnior. This museum displays a collection of sacred objects typical of church treasuries, but is also has on display some fine examples of silk-embroidery. In addition there are fine Arras tapestries and examples of colchas, bedspreads embroidered by local girls and women, using designs dating from the 12th century. These items were traditionally part of a trousseau, but at the embroidery school attached to the museum today they are available for purchase or can be made to order.
Also in Castelo Branco and Nearby
The Misericordia church to the left of the garden gate doesn’t house any great treasures, but is an interesting stop. Misericordia churches were primarily intended as charitable institutions. To its right is a bustling square with cafes, shops and restaurants — a thoroughly pleasant place to stop for lunch or coffee.
The stabilized White Castle ruins up the hill are not the most outstanding of Portugal’s abundance of castles, but worth the climb for the Miradouro, a park-like belvedere with views out over the red roof tops of Castelo Branco and the countryside.
Northeast of the city, Idanha-a-Nova is especially interesting for its extensive Roman ruins and those of a Templar castle and an eighteenth century manor with some fine houses surrounding it. Artifacts for the area are in a large museum nearby, and also close is the shrine of N.S. de Almortão.
When to go
Try to go to the gardens on a bright sunny day when they show to their best effect. The grayness of the walks, statuary and ornate stonework can detract from the effect on a dark or gloomy day. The best time to admire the beautiful design of these gardens may well be winter when the hedge design shows up clearly without tall flowers. The garden is all in greens in boxwood and orange trees at that time. To enjoy the best color, spring and summer fills the beds with annual flowers placed in the hedge bordered beds, setting the garden alive with color.
Getting to Castelo Branco
Castelo Branco is 115 miles from Lisbon, via the E01 and E806 highways. It is in eastern Portugal, not far from the border with Spain.
Barbara Rogers - Traveler, writer and guidebook author with a passion for those lands that border the Mediterranean Sea and the neighboring Atlantic ...
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