Eastern Way

On the way to Fronteira, an Alentejo village whose vestiges of human occupation date back to more than 10,000 years ago, we can find other vestiges, these from a less distant past. In 1384, when Portuguese independence was threatened by the siege of the king of Castela and by a Castilian invasion of the Alentejo, Nuno Álvares Pereira, at the service of the future King D. João I, gathered an army of just over 1500 men, 300 lancers, and 100 archers. The battle took place in the marshy site of Atoleiros, where the Portuguese troops adopted the square tactic and thus managed to supplant an army composed of three times more soldiers. The Castilian cavalry, defeated by the Portuguese lancers, began to disperse and abandon the battle, ending it with a victory for the Portuguese side, which prepared other important battles in the following months. There is a memorial in the place where the battle took place, inaugurated on April 6, 1979.

At the village entrance, the fountain of São João has served travelers and pilgrims since at least the 17th century. Its current configuration dates back to two campaigns separated from each other for almost two centuries. The first one took place in Baroque times when the main backboard was defined, with an interrupted and dynamic pediment and a coat-of-arms. The tank on the right side also provided with a pediment, has a simpler design, with a flat backboard and less prominent pediment. In the 20th century, the main segment of the fountain was enriched with patterned tiles, and the granite guards that separate the space between the fountain and the tarred road were defined.

Pillory of Fronteira

The village of Fronteira was possibly founded in 1226 by D. Fernando Monteiro, master of Avis. More concrete data point to a royal intervention of D. Dinis in 1290. It is certain that the locality received a new charter from D. Manuel I in 1512, the same date of the pillory construction pillory, a patrimonial element that symbolized the municipal autonomy. The pillory is implanted in a quadrangular socle of three steps and is formed by an octagonal shaft with a capital decorated with spheres, and a semi-spherical pine cone edge. The pillory was dismantled in 1865, by order of the City Council, and the elements remained in the custody of a private. It was only in the decade of the 30s of the 20th century that the pillory was reassembled, according to its description in the Livro do Tombo dos Bens do Concelho de Fronteira.

In 1571, King D. Sebastião ordered the enlargement of Fronteira main church, located in the castle courtyard. The Commander of Fronteira chose to build a new temple, and the works began in 1576, with master António Góis in charge of the works. The campaign was very quick and was practically finished in 1594, resulting in a large building, “salon-church” type, with a monumental façade flanked by two double bell towers. The artistic pieces date back generically to the 18th century, such as the main altarpiece, in black and white Estremoz marble, or the image of Our Lady of Atalaia, the church’s main patron saint.

Church and Hospital of Misericórdia
The church and hospital of Misericórdia constitute a particularly harmonious monumental ensemble in Fronteira. The church was completed in 1583 and, from that Mannerist period, dates the main portal, in strict austerity, and the padded corners of the main façade. In the 18th century, the ensemble was greatly enriched, especially in its devotional elements. So a new main altarpiece of gilded wood carvings was built, and a new configuration was given to the finish of the façade in a countercurved profile already rococo. The scenographic painting involving the triumphal arch, in shades of blue and white that frames the painting from Calvary in the center, was done, and the registrars’ gallery was built in marble. The hospital is annexed to the church through the north side.