Windmill

Category: Culture and Entertainment > Museum

District: Setúbal > Santiago do Cacém > Santiago do Cacém > Cumeadas

Location

Located in the Cumeadas urbanization, this windmill stands in an elevated position, part of the old milling belt that once surrounded Santiago do Cacém. Its location offers a broad perspective of the surroundings, integrated into the urban fabric of the locality.

A Legacy of Winds

Windmills, once solitary sentinels atop the hills, have for centuries witnessed humanity's profound connection with the forces of nature. In this municipality, molinology, or the study of mills, reveals remarkable richness, a result of their scale and importance. There were around seventy such devices, powered by wind or water, essential for transforming wind energy into bread. Conscious of the historical value and the need to preserve this heritage, the municipality of Santiago do Cacém acquired and restored this example, ensuring its permanence as a living memory of bygone times.

Architecture and Ingenuity

This mill is a notable example of traditional construction. It features a masonry structure with a truncated conical tower, culminating in a rotary cap. The movement of this cap, essential for orienting the mill's sails according to wind direction, is operated by an ingenious winch system. This architectural design allowed the miller to harness the wind's force and optimize the milling process.

The Miller's Tradition

Since 1982, this mill has been kept in operation, preserving an ancestral practice. It is here that, when weather conditions permit, one can observe the traditional grain milling process. The tradition remains alive, with local inhabitants bringing their grain, which is then transformed into flour for making homemade bread, corn porridge, or for feeding farm animals, perpetuating a rural cycle that has endured for centuries.

Ancient Curiosity

It is said, according to popular wisdom passed down through generations of millers, that every miller had a dog for companionship. The particularity was that this animal always had dark fur, a peculiar way of checking if its snout was improperly sniffing the flour, a curiosity that reveals the close connection between the miller and his craft.