Monforte () is a municipality in the District of Portalegre in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 3,329, in an area of 420.25 km². The present Mayor is Gonçalo Nuno Lagem, elected by the Coligação Democrática Unitária.

History

The human occupation of this territory began in the

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

period, with small communities farming and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

raising. The

Roman civilization The history of Rome includes the history of the Rome, city of Rome as well as the Ancient Rome, civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman la ...

had an important influence in these lands leaving a rich patrimonial legacy. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

there existed in the territory of the present council two different population nucleus, the Villa of Monforte and the Villa of Assumar. The first Letter of

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

was granted in 1257, by D.

Afonso III Afonso III (; rare English alternatives: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse''), or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin), the Boulonnais ( Port. ''o Bolonhês''), King of Portugal ( ...

, to the Villa of Monforte. It would be it given new letter of charter on July 1, 1512, by D.

Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: *Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180) *Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263) *Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was ...

. In 1281, D.

Dinis Denis (, ; 9 October 1261 – 7 January 1325 in Santarém), called the Farmer King (''Rei Lavrador'') and the Poet King (''Rei Poeta''), was King of Portugal. The eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second wife, Beatrice of Castile, an ...

offered it to its daughter D. Isabel, as gift of its marriage. In 1455, the Villa of Monforte entered in the ownership of the territorial domain of Bragança's House, through the donation done by D.

Afonso V Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa. ...

to the count of

Arraiolos Arraiolos () is a municipality in Évora District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 7,363, in an area of 683.75 km2. The town of Arraiolos has 3,351 inhabitants. The present Mayor is Silvia Pinto, elected by the Unitary Democratic Coalit ...

. The toponym derives of fortified hill or of fort, where the village seems to have had origin.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (''

freguesias ''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Port ...

''): * Assumar * Monforte * Santo Aleixo * Vaiamonte

Notable people

António Sardinha António Sardinha (9 September 1887 in Monforte, Portalegre – 10 January 1925 in Elvas Municipality, Elvas) was a Portugal, Portuguese writer and the main intellectual behind the ''Integralismo Lusitano'' movement. He espoused a strongly conserva ...

(1887–1925) a Portuguese writer and the main intellectual behind the ''

Integralismo Lusitano ''Integralismo Lusitano'' (English: "Lusitanian Integralism") was a Portuguese integralist political movement founded in Coimbra in 1914 that advocated traditionalism but not conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and pol ...

'' movement *

José Carlos Malato José Carlos Malato (born 7 March 1964, in Monforte) is a Portuguese TV presenter, radio broadcaster, copywriter and college teacher. In 2018, he publicly declared himself as gay. In 2022, he declared himself as non-binary. Television programs ...

(born 1964) a Portuguese TV presenter, radio broadcaster, copywriter and college teacher. José Carlos Malato, IMDb Database
retrieved 16 July 2021.

References

External links

Town Hall official websitePhotos from Monforte
Populated places in Portalegre District Municipalities of Portalegre District {{Portalegre-geo-stub