Olivenza was Portuguese until 1801, when King Carlos IV of Spain, forced by Napoleon, declared war on Portugal to renounce its alliance with England - a sworn enemy of France - and won it in 18 days.
The war of the Oranges was called, jokingly, for some that Godoy sent from Elvas to his lover, Queen María Luisa.
219 years have passed and Olivenza still retains the face and sweetness of when she was Portuguese.
The grandparents continue to refer to her as la vila and the children study Portuguese at school.
Besides being a healthy example of miscegenation, it is one of the most beautiful towns in Spain.
Given the current sanitary circumstances, it will be necessary to consult the conditions of visit of its monuments before our trip by calling the
tourist office
(+34 924 49 01 51).
enlarge photo COVA FDEZ.
9.00 Sweet start
Perfect for breakfast is the terrace of
La Chimney (1)
.
It is located on a pedestrian street in front of the Casa de la Misericordia, one of the jewels of the town, with its chapel lined with historical Portuguese tiles.
And there are more than fifty cakes to choose from.
To take home a sweet memory of Olivenza, you will also have to stop by
Casa Fuentes (2)
, where since 1942 they have made the authentic, the original, the only registered and patented Técula Mécula, a yolk and almond cake that, they say, lasts until a month (in the unlikely event that no one gobbles it first).
Many of the delicacies that make up Casa Fuentes are of Portuguese origin, such as the bollo podre, the cream casseroles, the quesada or the piñonate that on the other side of the Guadiana they call
nogado
.
enlarge photo The Alcázar of Olivenza (Badajoz).
W. SKRYPCZAK alamy
10.00 Ascent to the fortress
On a 13th-century Templar fortress - of which no trace has remained - the Portuguese kings raised the
Alcazar (3)
of Olivenza, with a formidable tower of 37 meters, the highest on the border, to which it is possible to ascend caracolendo by 17 ramps, as the artillery pieces climbed in their day.
Once up, an entertaining game is trying to guess the outline of the ancient Olivenza.
It is not easy, because there have been four walls and the white hamlet has been engulfing all its canvases and gates like a leukocyte, as well as several of the bastions (in the shape of a starry oval) from when Portugal fought for independence from the Spanish Crown (1640 ).
Inside the fortress is the
González Santana Ethnographic Museum (4)
, with 9,000 objects that recall how Olivenza lived a century ago.
To cry with emotion is the recreation of the school, with the cattail chairs (no desks yet), the picón braziers and the tiny classroom - actually, a room in the teacher's home - where the children studied shuffled without age distinction.
To the north of the fortress, in front of the door of San Sebastián, there is another very curious museum, the
Papercraft (5)
(+34 652 48 98 13), where Guillermo Rebollo from Olivet exhibits more than 700 3D paper figures that he has assembled ;
from a miniature Vatican to a huge and pissed-off Incredible Hulk.
It is the only museum of cut-outs in Spain and it is free;
for Rebollo, the visitor's will is enough to continue buying paper, scissors and glue.
12.00 Ecstasy in granite
Attached to the fortress is the
church of Santa María del Castillo (6)
, supported by huge Ionic columns bathed in amber light, as if wrapped in yellow cellophane.
But for beautiful light, the one that illuminates the
church of La Magdalena (7)
.
At certain times, the multi-colored beams of the stained-glass windows strike the twisted columns, typical of the Manueline style - the final Portuguese Gothic - and it is as if the granite is twisted in the vision of a mystic taken by ecstasy.
Another Manueline gem is the door of
the Municipal Palace (8)
, which is the symbol of Olivenza, its most iconic and repeated image.
Also admirable is the Portuguese tilework in the chapel of the
House of Mercy (9)
, with biblical scenes full of naive anachronisms.
enlarge photo Rest of the Ajuda bridge, 390 meters long and built in the 16th century over the Guadiana river, near Olivenza (Badajoz).
andrés campos
14.00 Picnic next to Guadiana
If time permits, it is worth eating outdoors next to
the Ajuda bridge (10)
.
This colossal 390-meter construction, laid in the 16th century over the Guadiana River, 12 kilometers from the town, flew through the air in 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Today the Spanish and Portuguese use their border ruins as a promenade, viewpoint and common picnic area, as if they had never fought over anything.
If time does not allow the above, then we will go to
Casa Maila (11)
(+34 687 80 91 59) to try the excellent tapas at the bar or the roasts at the table.
Or
Dosca (12)
(+34 924 49 10 65), a restaurant located next to the Magdalena church, where we will be right if we try the stuffed artichokes, the retinto sirloin with Torta del Casar and the cod with cilantro.
Adding coriander to everything is very Portuguese, by the way.
enlarge photo View of the Alqueva reservoir, near Olivenza.
A. CARVALHO getty
17.00 In an artificial sea
Time to see how the setting sun dyes the Guadiana border red, dammed in the Alqueva reservoir, the largest artificial lake in Europe with 1,160 kilometers of shore, almost a sea.
The
Villarreal pier (13)
, 13 kilometers from Olivenza, in front of the Portuguese fortress of Juromenha, is a good viewpoint.
Another day, with more light and tranquility, we will drive around the very beautiful - and once highly contested - border of Badajoz, threading the towns of
Alconchel (14)
,
Villanueva del Fresno (15)
and the beautiful
Jerez de los Caballeros (16)
, birthplace of Núñez de Balboa.
20.30 A restaurant with five tables
On the Portuguese shore of the Alqueva reservoir there is a charming accommodation:
Casas de Juromenha (17)
, six white houses with doors and windows painted red, green and blue, and with chimneys of the most varied forms, almost like a Portuguese themed village .
In the same town, you should book for dinner at
Pata Larga
(+351 924 13 19 07), a restaurant with five tables, typically Alentejo, where they make river fish and one from the sea, cod with spinach, very delicious.
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