Nowadays, it is common to find culture based development strategies, particularly in the rural world, in demographically and economically depressed communities, all of them trying to find and profit from their particular characteristics, trying to attract more and more metropolitan citizens, that pack together in thousands and millions in the big cities, to these new weekend and holidays paradises...

But twenty years ago, and at least in Portugal, this was quite unusual. With the exception of some historical urban settlements chosen back in the sixties to illustrate architectonic heritages from different areas of the country, there were hardly any examples that could now be presented as a proper argument in favour of a continuity in this field of cultural safeguard.

The territorial resources and the historic evolution

Placed in southern Portugal, at the north side of the hills dividing the Alentejo from the Algarve, Mértola’s Council is a huge territory (within the Portuguese municipal scale of reference, the third biggest), with a total of 1279 square km. This would not be so important in actual days if it would not be the fact that – unlikely to what generally happens in Alentejo, population is not concentrated, a number of approximately 100 small localities still exist, having between 150 and 2 or 3 persons. For the local municipal budget, this is a factor of major importance, once expenses are quite high in structural areas, transports and so, of course, smaller in cultural activities.

Population decrease as been a constant factor since S. Domingos cupper mine, a huge settlement of 5000 inhabitants, just 17 km away, closed down in the 60’s, favouring, at the occasion, a strong emigration. Also in the 80’s, with the crises in the agriculture sector, due to global economic trends that have inclusively influenced European policies, leading to employment shortage and again more emigration. It is not by chance that population evolution presents such figures: 26.028 in the 1960’s Census, 14.385 by 1970, 11.693 in the 80’s and, at the beginning of the last decade of the century, already less than 10.000 (9.371). There is a certain curiosity to see, with the new Census coming on, if finally the emorrogy as stopped. The first sign was given by the 90’s figures that showed that the town had finally displayed a positive growth (10%) after so much time. Can we presume this already to be an impact of a renewed local economic sector, a consequence of cultural tourism consumers?

Well, in fact, the small town of Mértola is a place with an exceptional historical evolution. In its body the traces of the most significant stages of occupation can still be perceived, and are the best testimony of the events that gradually shaped its actual urban looks. Reminiscences of the times in which it was a big commercial harbour of the Guadiana river, with connections already to the pre-roman Mediterranean routes, from its days as capital of a roman district, and, latter on, of a small islamic kingdom, and of the times in which – soon after the Christian conquest, its castle was the home office of the Santiago knights.

These old roles are all set upon one factor: the Vila (its actual administrative designation) was the last place boats could reach while coming up the river. This position made her become the turning point between the inland and the sea, having enviable defensive qualities, looking fearless to all enemies from the top of its imponent walls and castle.

Indeed, navigation made it possible for this interior region to be part of the common market that in ancient periods was flourishing around the basin of the “inner sea”. Boats going down the river took the inland products (minerals, weed and other cereals, olive oil and many other things) to exchange with those coming from close and far distances: so these could be the sea fish from Tavira, in the Algarve, or the ceramic artefacts from eastern regions, like Phoenicia, or even more exotic merchandises from the close Orient.

For many of the patrimonial remains, this is also true, although, with very few exceptions, local materials are predominant. The really imported goods are more relevant as an influence than anything else, a trade of cultural traditions or sensibilities, to more pratical aspects, like a new technique, an architectural drawing, samples of new products to grow, harvest and use. Models from constantly renewed generations.

One of the most important of those influences that we can still perceive in Mértola is the drawing of the city. In the tangled streets and alleys the old Mediterranean urbanism is still present. The Vila, accordingly with the organic growth that shaped its profile, rests softly over a huge rocky promontory. In these cities planing is replaced by the conditioning of the relief, family evolution, generally also low economic capacity. Slowly, with the arrival of a new historic era around the millennium, these cities changed their looks, and surrounded themselves with thick walls, closing its doors to the outside world, and to outsiders, and so links many different civilisations were, for some time, chopped down.