Alentejo (pronounced [ɐlẽˈtɛʒu]) is a south-central region of Portugal. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Its name's origin, "Além-Tejo", literally translates to "Beyond the Tagus" or "Across the Tagus". The Tagus ( Latin Tagus, Spanish Tajo, Portuguese Tejo, pron. The region is separated from the rest of Portugal by the Tagus river, and extends to the south where it borders the Algarve. The Algarve ( pron aɫ'gaɾv(ɨ is the southernmost region of mainland Portugal. There are five sub-regions; the Alto (High) Alentejo, the Baixo (Lower) Alentejo, the Alentejo Central, the Alentejo Litoral, and Lezíria do Tejo. Its main cities are Évora (region's capital), Santarém (formerly belonging to Ribatejo region), Portalegre, Beja, and Sines. Évora (ˈɛvuɾɐ is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The city proper has 41159 inhabitants and the municipality has a total area of 1307 The Ribatejo (ʁibɐˈtɛʒu is the most central of Portugal 's traditional regions or provinces, with no coastline or border with Spain This article is about Portalegre Alentejo, Portugal. For Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, see Porto Alegre Beja (ˈbɛʒɐ is a city and a municipality in the Alentejo region Portugal. Sines ( pron 'sinɨʃ is a municipality in the district of Setúbal, Portugal, with a total area of 203 It has 776,585 inhabitants (2001), and an area of about 31,152 km² (density of 24 inhabitants per square kilometre).
It is one of five Regions of Portugal (NUTS II subdivisions). The administrative divisions of Portugal are undergoing changes The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, ( NUTS) for the French nomenclature d'unités territoriales statistiques, is a Geocode Today Lezíria do Tejo subregion, formerly belonging to Lisboa e Vale do Tejo region, is part of Alentejo NUTS II region. Lezíria do Tejo is a Portuguese NUTS III subregion part of Alentejo NUTS II region Lisboa e Vale do Tejo (liʒˈboɨ i vaɫ du ˈtɛʒu English: Lisbon and Tagus Valley was one of the five Regions of Portugal ( NUTS II subdivisions
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Geography
Topographically the countryside varies considerably, from the open rolling plains of the south of the Alentejo to the granite hills that border Spain in the north-east. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. To feed the water needs of this considerable area a number of public dams have been constructed, most notably the Alqueva Dam. The Alqueva dam is a Dam located at the Guadiana river in the Alentejo region
Nature
To the east of Portalegre is the Parque Natural da Serra de São Mamede, a Nature Park Area that includes charming medieval villages that have changed very little from those days. This article is about Portalegre Alentejo, Portugal. For Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, see Porto Alegre Serra de São Mamede Natural Park is a Natural park in Portugal. In the south near Mértola is another Nature Park Area named Parque Natural do Vale Guadiana. Mértola ( pron 'mɛɾtulɐ is a municipality in southeastern Portugal next to the Spanish border Guadiana Valley Natural Park is a Natural park in Portugal. It is one of the 30 areas which are officially under protection in the country This is mainly uninhabited and a contrast to the other above. To the west, the coastal strip that runs from the port of Sines down to Cabo de São Vicente is the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park. Cape St Vincent (Cabo de São Vicente 'kabu dɨ sɐ̃ũ vi'sẽtɨ next to the Sagres Point, on the so-called Costa Vicentina (Vincentine Coast is Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park is a Natural park in Portugal.
Economy
The area is commonly known as the "bread basket" of Portugal, a region of vast open countryside with undulating plains and rich fertile soil. With very few exceptions all the major towns are mainly reliant on agriculture, livestock and wood. There are several types of typical cheeses, wines and smoked hams and sausages made in Alentejo region, among these: Queijo de Serpa, Queijo de Évora and Queijo de Nisa (cheeses); Vinho do Alentejo and Vinho do Redondo (wines); and presunto (ham). Cheese is a Food made from Milk, usually the milk of cows, Buffalo, Goats or sheep, by coagulation. Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice Presunto is the name given to dry-cured Portuguese Ham similar to Spanish Jamón. Ham is the Thigh and Rump of Pork, cut from the Haunch of a Pig or Boar. Marble, cork, olive oil and mining industries are other important activities in the region. Marble is a nonfoliated Metamorphic rock resulting from the Metamorphism of Limestone, composed mostly of Calcite (a crystalline form of Cork material is a Prime-subset of generic cork tissue, harvested for commercial use primarily from the Cork Oak tree Quercus Olive oil is a fruit oil obtained from the olive ( Olea europaea; family Oleaceae along with Lilacs Jasmine and ash trees Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body
Trivia
- The Alqueva dam is today a landmark of this region. The Alqueva dam is a Dam located at the Guadiana river in the Alentejo region
- Alentejo is a region known for its polyphonic singing groups, comparable to those found on Sardinia and Corsica. Sardinia (sɑrˈdɪnɪə Sardegna Sardigna or Sardinnya is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily) Corsica (Corse Corsican and Italian: Corsica) is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily
- Alentejo provides the setting of Monica Ali's second novel, namely Alentejo Blue. Monica Ali (born October 20, 1967) is a British writer of Bangladeshi origin
Subregions
- Alentejo Central
- Alentejo Litoral
- Alto Alentejo
- Baixo Alentejo [1]
- Lezíria do Tejo
External links
Alentejo Central is a NUTS2 subregion of the Alentejo, in Portugal. Lezíria do Tejo is a Portuguese NUTS III subregion part of Alentejo NUTS II regionDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic