Blessed with one of the most spectacular castles in the whole of Portugal, the town of Santa Maria da Feira sits conveniently just off the A1 motorway midway between Porto and Aveiro in northern Portugal.
A bustling town with a history stretching back to Roman times, Santa Maria da Feira derives its name from a long tradition of holding large fairs and weekly markets in Rossio (the town’s main square), while its long winding streets are lined with exquisite 18th- and 19th-century merchants’ houses.
Built on the site of a pagan sanctuary and crowning a wooded hill on the southern edge of town (it takes around 15 minutes to walk there from the centre), Santa Maria da Feira Castle dominates the skyline with its four towers topped with a confection of domes.
A fairy-tale fortification of Disney-like proportions, the Castelo de Santa Maria da Feira (as it is known locally) is a magnificent example of defensive engineering with hidden entrances, pointed turrets and even an underground cistern.
A sunken gateway leads visitors into the castle’s grand interior and a tunnel links the two main parts of the castle, one of which features a splendid Moorish structure called the Great Hall. Besides its imposing battlements, the castle’s other prominent aspects include arrow slits, keyhole windows and stones marked with Roman inscriptions.
On the way down from the castle, the grand Convent of Loios features blue 17th-century azulejo tiles decorating the façades of its two symmetrical bell-towers. Close by lies Santa Maria da Feira’s handsome parish church, the Igreja da Misericórdia, which features a lovely gilded altarpiece under a coffered ceiling in the chancel and a very unusual statue of St Christopher standing over three metres high.
Where to go in Northern Portugal
Winter visitors won’t want to miss the Festa das Fogaceiras which takes place every year on the 20th of January, one of the liveliest town festivities in the region. The highlight of the festa is the long line of young girls parading through the town’s streets with castle-shaped fogaça cakes in a tradition dating back to 1750 when Prince Pedro made a vow to St Mary (Santa Maria) that cakes in the shape of his castle would be baked in thanksgiving for those who survived the terrible plague of that year.
Just 20 kilometres (13 miles) east of Santa Maria da Feira, the small town of Arouca is most notable for its stunning convent founded in 1091. Its striking Baroque church holds richly carved choir stalls and a great organ with 1,352 notes. Visitors can also see an elaborate silver casket which holds the remains and an effigy of Princess Mafalda, daughter of King Sancho I. The museum upstairs includes an exquisite 13th-century silver diptych and a series of rare paintings by Josefa de Óbidos (1630-84).
The coastal town of Ovar, a few kilometres to the south-west of Santa Maria da Feira, boasts a fine sandy beach (one of the best in the area) and an interesting ethnological museum portraying the many customs and traditions prevalent in this fascinating part of Portugal.
The town gives good access to several interesting places to visit, such as the charming town of Aveiro with its canals and beautiful lagoon known as the Ria de Aveiro). A 30 -minute motorway drive north of Santa Maria da Feira lies Porto, the country’s second city and a burgeoning travel destination with a rich assortment of unmissable tourist attractions and historic monuments.
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