Category: Civil Architecture > Museum
District: Portalegre > Gavião > Belver
The small locality of Domingos da Vinha, nestled in the municipality of Gavião and integrated into the parish of Belver, hosts this museum space. It is situated in a transition area, marking the beginning of the Alentejo landscape on the north bank of the Tagus River.
The museum is located in the heart of this community, on Rua do Comércio, harmonizing with an environment that preserves a genuinely rural and traditional character.
The museum is housed in an old communal olive oil mill, a building that has been carefully restored to preserve its original structure. This space, which once played a central role in the life of the village, was where olives were pressed and oil was produced collectively, now becoming a faithful guardian of local traditions linked to this secular culture.
Its architecture reflects the region's rurality, with the use of materials such as stone and wood, integrating naturally into the landscape of Domingos da Vinha. Although the village itself owes its name to the ancient and strong connection to the vineyard, whose roots date back centuries of history, the museum focuses on the relevant heritage of olive oil production.
In one of the museum's rooms, visitors are invited to explore the olive oil production process as it was practiced in the past. Here, the indispensable utensils for transforming olives into oil are highlighted.
It is possible to observe the impressive stone millstones, which ground the olives, and the press, crucial for extracting the precious liquid. Other objects, such as the esparto mats, where the olive paste was placed for pressing, and the clay jars, used for storing and decanting the oil, illustrate the art and effort involved in this ancestral activity. Old photographs on the walls document the stages of olive oil production, revealing the community's routine and hard work.
The second room of the museum is dedicated to the cycle of bread, a staple food in rural diet and culture, given the importance of grain fields in this region. In this more intimate space, one can appreciate a reconstruction of a table with traditional elements, as well as the cereals and instruments used in homemade bread making.
Among the exhibited pieces are the taleigo, a bag used to transport cereals or flour, and the peneira, essential for refining the flour before baking. An oil lamp and embroidered linen cloths complete the atmosphere, evoking the daily life and routines associated with bread preparation. The museum itself, by exhibiting these elements, underscores the shared nature of practices such as bread baking, which, like olive oil, was a communal process in the village.
More than a mere repository of objects, the Domingos da Vinha Museum is a testament to the resilience and identity of a small community. Through its exhibitions, which gather pieces generously donated by the inhabitants, the museum aims to preserve and showcase the traditions and rural way of life that have shaped this village over the centuries.
This cultural space is a meeting point for memories, a collective effort to keep alive the history and experiences of the generations who lived and continue to live there, revealing the simplicity and richness of local culture.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 39.5251066,-7.9507896
Coordinates DMS: 39°31'30.4"N 07°57'2.8"W
Weather Belver
On-duty Pharmacy Belver
