Rossio Palace
Rossio Palace
- A natural paradise
Surrounded by the natural park with most biodiversity in Portugal
Location
2h from Lisbon and next to Spain
Rossio Palace is located at the center of a historical village — dating from the Templars (Póvoa e Meadas) — and surrounded by the vast Natural Park of São Mamede, considered park with most biodiversity in Portugal.
This pristine and idilic environment, calm and peaceful, is 2h away from Lisbon and close to the border with Spain. In 1h20 it is possible to reach Badajoz, a city filled with Moorish and medieval architecture. A little further, 1h40 away, is Caceres, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The region boasts an ample offer of activity tourism and nature tourism (including hikes in wild nature areas, water activities in lakes, rivers, and waterfalls, and wildlife watching), cultural experiences (castles, museums, and archeological sites), and gastronomy (wine, food, and cheese). The beauty of the landscape invites excursions on foot, on mountain bikes and on horseback, and the country lanes are excellent for cycling-tourism.
The municipality in which Rossio Palace is located (Castelo de Vide) is considered the one (out of 308 municipalities) with the highest quality of living in the country (based on the 2021 Rating of Quality of Life in Portugal by Marktest). The climate is mediterranean, with dry summers and mild winters. Average temperatures throughout the year vary from 8-30°C.
Palace Building
Rossio Palace was the estate of the wealthy Da Costa family, which had ties to Brazil (at the time when it was a Portuguese colony). The palace is at the center of the small traditional village of Póvoa e Meadas (which dates back to the Templars times), surrounded by the Natural Park of São Mamede. The property consists of an urban plot with a constructed area of 3,000 m2 divided between the palace (1,300 m2) and the dependencies (1,700 m2).
Rossio Palace has always been an integral part of the identity of the village of Póvoa e Meadas. The main building dominates the central plaza of the village (Largo do Rossio) and is the background for many of the local celebrations. Recently, the palace was the chosen premise for the recording of the national TV series “O Nosso Cônsul”.
The rehabilitation of the palace and conversion to a Deluxe Hotel has the responsibility to preserve that rich history, while bringing a new life to the majestic property. The facade of the palace boasts an eclectic composition of ornaments as diverse as arched doorways and gateways, friezes and sculpted mortar decorations and ledges, emblems and elements in forged iron.
Other Buildings
The dependencies consist of two rows of buildings. In the past, the buildings were used for the production of cheese, milk, meat, olive oil and wine — traditional products of the region. According to historians, the palace employed around 200 people and was the main employer and supplier of food in the village (it used to have a local shop).
When crossing the gate to the second courtyard, a sprawling array of abandoned buildings present themselves, featuring production facilities such as an olive oil mill, smoking ovens, big oil barrels, food production equipment and ceramics. Further away are the buildings that housed the animals.
Products
The Rossio Palace brand
Wine and olive oil
The region is renown for its notable olive oils and wines. The mountains and fields with different soil types and the sunny climate provide perfect conditions for a versatile range of tasty wines (such as Tempranillo, Portalegre, Redondo, and Viguideira). The wine in this region was originally matured in clay pots, which can be found at Rossio Palace. Many old vintage wines are also preserved in the dependencies of the palace. The organic Rossio Palace olive oil is sold in several EU markets in a bottle of 500 mL.
Almonds
In the region, there are also several nuts in production. Rossio Palace brand is featured most notably in almonds. The almond trees in the region have particularly good conditions to grow, mainly due to the many hours of sunshine. The almonds are certified organic and sold to in some EU markets in packages of 900g. The Rossio Palace almonds are distinctive for their taste, especially when they are freshly harvest, in September.
