Marialva Castle

Marialva stands on a granite hill above the Côa valley in the old frontier country of the Beira. The hill was already fortified in the Iron Age and was later used by Romans, Visigoths and Moors. In the mid-11th century the settlement was captured by Ferdinand I of León, King Sancho I rebuilt the castle in stone, and Dinis strengthened it. The Treaty of Alcañices confirmed the region as Portuguese in 1297. The walled circuit has towers and two main gates, and inside lie the remains of houses, cisterns and a church. In front of the former town hall stands a 16th-century pillory with an octagonal shaft; one step bears the date 1559.

The castle and walled town declined in importance from the 16th century, and the inhabitants gradually moved outside the walls. Today Marialva is one of the Aldeias Históricas de Portugal (Historic Villages). Lonely Planet describes it as a quiet place of cobbled lanes and stone houses.