Pegões can be understood through tangible traces of its settlement and cultural history. The Colonato Agrícola de Pegões Velhos is divided into three settlements; roads, irrigation systems and waterways are among its central features. These are complemented by a variety of church art, a Baroque fountain, a dense pine forest and the Barragem de Pegões, a place to take a break and enjoy a picnic. When planning a stay, you can consider culture, agriculture and nature as clearly distinct points of interest.

Colonato and local history

The three settlements give the Colonato Agrícola de Pegões Velhos its spatial layout; the first two settlement centres contain 18 buildings for commerce, education, leisure, worship and social care. This combination of settlement scale and range of functions makes the Colonato informative for anyone interested in architecture and everyday history. You can shift your focus between the layout of the complex as a whole and the different purposes of the buildings in the first two centres. In this way, spatial organisation sits alongside social, religious, cultural and economic functions.

The Colónia de Santo Isidro de Pegões was the only project of its kind to be implemented south of the Tagus. This comparison gives the local history a distinctive regional context.

Church art and architectural styles

The architecture of the Igreja de St.º Isidro de Pegões departs from the design norms that prevailed at the time. Its single-nave interior contains a large wall fresco depicting Santo Isidro, by Severo Portela Júnior. The church thus brings together a distinctive architectural style and a religious image. The main altar of the Igreja Paroquial de Pegões features an abstract, colourful triptych by Artur Bual. The Igreja das Faias contains a work by the painter Artur Bual, dated 1965. Bual is also associated with the Monumento de Homenagem à Agricultura: an assemblage of decommissioned agricultural machinery and individual parts. Bual’s work thus ranges from the triptych on the main altar and the dated church artwork to the assemblage of agricultural machinery.

The Fontanário de Pegões offers a different historical perspective: the Baroque fountain dates from the 18th century. Together with the work in the Igreja das Faias dated 1965, it creates a contrast in time between the construction of the fountain and a dated work of art.

Landscape and breaks

The Rota de Santo Isidro also offers specific points of interest for exploring the landscape. Along the route, the Pinhal das Sesmarias is known as a dense pine forest; the Barragem de Pegões is a suitable place to take a break and enjoy a picnic. The two features offer different perspectives: one highlights the character of the forest, while the other offers a chance to relax and picnic. If you want to get a sense of the landscape around Pegões, you can distinguish between the dense pine forest and a break by the Barragem.

Wine and agriculture

The Cooperativa Agrícola de Pegões is a modern, competitive winery with national and international recognition. It has received more than 500 awards and prizes at prestigious international wine competitions. The offer includes wine tastings and guided tours. Tours must be booked 48 hours in advance; they are currently temporarily suspended due to internal renovation work. Check before travelling whether guided tours are being offered again.

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