Aldeias Históricas de Portugal

Villages

Ruins of the settlement of the Parish of S. Miguel

Monsanto

Monsanto

The original castle, built by the Templars, was placed on the highest point. The Order’s rules required the separation of the members from the populace. Thus, the first centre of the Medieval settlement was in a lower, more sheltered area, where the Chapel of S. Miguel is located in the northeast wing of the castle. Later, other neighbourhoods were built down the north slope and spreading out at the foot, such as the Parish of S. Salvador, simply called the Village today, along with other places set up at the foot of the mountain. In the mid-18th century, it was a still a parish, though sparsely populated; today, little remains of the settlement other than rubble scattered across the moss and brambles that abound near the entrance to the castle and the back of the Chapel of S. Miguel.