Odemira

Odemira stands beside the Mira in the southwestern Alentejo, near the navigable reach of the river. Its castle was granted to the bishop of Porto in 1245, and Afonso III brought the town under the crown and gave it a charter in 1256. King Denis later granted the lordship to the Genoese admiral Manuel Pessanha. In 1446 Afonso V created the title of count of Odemira for Sancho de Noronha, and Manuel I issued a new charter in 1510.