Tour audio Roteiros das Fontes

This tour allows you to visit 13 Portalegre fountains which have artistic, monumental and diversed value and intends, in a tour where are insert other monuments and buildings of great arquitetonic value, to call attention for how important fountains once where in the city.

The S. Mamede's Mountain, water rich, fueled over many years the city's fountains. A survey recently realized allows to resgister the existence of 47 water elements, between fountains and sources since century XVI and XXI, in Portalegre. Till ends of century XIX, canalized water was pratically circunscrit to the fountain. In Portalegre, on year 1893, has a resgister of canalized water only on the chain, in Covent of Saint Claire, the Cathedral and 9 particular houses, so the mayority of habitants access to water was established with the public fountains. Only since the 40's of century XX we can talk about analized water on residences. We conclued Portalegre fountains, as like in many cities, begun by building a urbanistic mobiliary, with utilitary characteristics, having documental records about fountains where were allowed to wash clothes, wattering the animals and even shower. Nowadays is ocurring an inteevention campaing in 16 Portalegre's fountains that includes cleaning and painting. This intervention will allow that every intervented fountain have potable water, will be put pressed taps, or temporized taps, giving back is anterior funcionability.