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Penamacor
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Belmonte Castelo Branco Covilhã Fundão Idanha-a-Nova Oleiros Penamacor Proença-a-Nova Sertã Vila de Rei Vila Velha de Ródão
A frontier town fought over by Romans, Visigoths and Moors, it was fortified by the Master of the Templar Knights, Gualdim Pais, in the 12th century. The walls of the castle can still be seen rising over the quiet streets of this little town, proud of its Miserichord Church (16th century, with a fine Manueline portal topped by armillary spheres). Other interesting monuments are the Mother Church, the pillory and the restored castle keep. The county, sparsely inhabited, offers visitors several options for some hours of leisure and relaxation, such as hunting small game, fishing at the Baságueda stream or simply exploring the beautiful and bucolic municipal woods. Typical houses of the region, built in stone and with a barn below and the rooms above, can be still seen at the pleasant village of Aldeia do Bispo, where there is also a pretty church. Local handicrafts include embroideries and lace sewn on linnen and woven quilts of rags. As for the local gastronomy, visitors may find a variety of game dishes such as a delicious recipe of wild rabbit stew. Penamacor is also the headquarters of the Malcata Mountains Natural Reserve which shelters species such as wolves and otters in a wild and forested area of about 20 square quilometres, but is specially known for being one of the last refuges of the almost extinct Iberian lynx (Lynx pardina).
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