Almodôvar ( or ; ar, المدوّر, al-Mudawwar, the Round one) is a town and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

in the District of Beja, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 7,449, in an area of 777.88 km². The present Mayor is António Bota, a member of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

. The town's Museum of Southwestern Writing is featured on episode 1 of the three part documentary ''The Celts: Blood, Iron and Sacrifice'', which was broadcast by the BBC in 2015, and hosted by

Alice Roberts Alice May Roberts (born 19 May 1973) is an English biological anthropologist, biologist, television presenter and author. Since 2012 she has been Professor of the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham. She was Presiden ...

and Neil Oliver, featuring stone tables containing what some archeologists believe to be a proto-Celtic language.

Parishes

The municipality is subdivided into the following parishes: * Aldeia dos Fernandes * Almodôvar e Graça dos Padrões *

Santa Clara-a-Nova e Gomes Aires Santa Clara-a-Nova e Gomes Aires is a civil parish in the municipality of Almodôvar Almodôvar ( or ; ar, المدوّر, al-Mudawwar, the Round one) is a town and a municipality in the District of Beja, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 7,4 ...

* Rosário * Santa Cruz *

São Barnabé SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

History

The village of Almodôvar is signaled in medieval Islamic cartography under the name ''al-Mudawwar'' meaning "thing in round" or "surrounded in round". The settlement was rebuilt at the time of the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, with walls surrounding it and a castle inside. Remains of these have, however, disappeared. Almodôvar received its first

Foral 200px, Foral of Castro Verde - Portugal The word ''foral'' ({{IPA-pt, fuˈɾaɫ, eu, plural: ''forais'') is a noun derived from the Portuguese word ''foro'', ultimately from Latin ''forum'', equivalent to Spanish ''fuero'', Galician ''foro'', C ...

(Town Charter) on April 17, 1285, by order of King Dinis of Portugal, confirmed by a new Foral on June 1, 1512, by order of King

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was list of Portuguese monarchs, King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Duke of Viseu, Viseu prior to su ...

Geography

The Almodôvar area is situated in an area of transition between the

Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alen ...

peneplain 390px, Sketch of a hypothetical peneplain formation after an orogeny. In geomorphology and geology, a peneplain is a low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion. This is the definition in the broadest of terms, albeit with frequency the usage ...

, in the northernmost part of the municipality, and the hills of the Serra do Caldeirão to the south of its territory. The

Iberian Pyrite Belt The Iberian Pyrite Belt is a vast geographical area with particular geological features that stretches along much of the south of the Iberian Peninsula, from Portugal to Spain. It is about 250 km long and 30–50 km wide, running northwe ...

(IPB) which begins in

Aljustrel Aljustrel () is a town and a municipality in the Portuguese district of Beja. The population in 2011 was 9,257, in an area of 458.47 km2. The present mayor is Nelson Domingos Brito, elected by the Socialist Party. The municipal holiday is ...

and spreads through the lower Alentejo extending into Southern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

crosses the area of the municipality.

Climate

The municipality experiences a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

with hot, dry summers and mild wet winters.

Notable people

* Katchana (born 1983) real name, ''Ricardo Jorge Guerreiro Felisberto'', a footballer with over 300 club caps * Daniel Mestre (born 1986) a Portuguese cyclist

References

External links

Town Hall official websiteMunicipality of Almodôvar Portal
Populated places in Beja District Municipalities of Beja District {{Beja-geo-stub