Vila Viçosa

Vila Vicosa lies in the upper Alentejo, where cultivated plains, vineyards, olive groves, and grazing country support a landscape of towns and estates. Roads linked local production with neighboring districts and the Portuguese interior. Water and seasonal heat shaped agricultural work, while markets and crafts served both rural households and urban residents. The town's political role eventually gave it a prominence greater than its ordinary economic surroundings alone would suggest.

Vila Viçosa became a seat of the dukes of Braganza in the fifteenth century. Duke Jaime began a new ducal palace there in 1501, after his family returned from exile in Castile. In 1640 the eighth duke was acclaimed King João IV during the restoration of Portuguese independence. The palace subsequently served as a royal residence, linking the town's history to the new dynasty.