Palmela

Castle • Palmela, Setúbal

From the top of the hill, Palmela Castle commands one of the widest views in the region, between Arrábida, the Tagus and the Sado. Archaeological excavations have confirmed its Islamic origin, between the eighth and ninth centuries, before the successive captures and recaptures of the Christian Reconquest. Granted to the Knights of Santiago at the end of the twelfth century and linked to the Order for centuries, it became a military, religious and political centre that was crucial to the organisation of the territory. Even now, the keep, the ruins of Santa Maria and the austere Church of Santiago reveal that layering of periods and powers. It is worth climbing slowly and lingering on the walls: from there, it becomes clear why Palmela was such a strategic lookout. One episode is especially memorable — from here, great warning fires were lit to announce the approach of the troops of D. Nuno Álvares Pereira.

Museum • Palmela, Setúbal

The Museu da Música Mecânica is located in Arraiados, in the parish of Pinhal Novo, municipality of Palmela. Inaugurated in 2016, it is a private museum created from the collection assembled by Luís Cangueiro, dedicated to instruments capable of producing sound through exclusively mechanical systems. The collection brings together more than 600 pieces, all in working order, dating from the late 18th century to the first half of the 20th century. Music boxes, gramophones, mechanical organs, phonographs and other devices reveal a history in which music is linked to engineering, entertainment and sound memory. The building, designed by the architect Miguel Marcelino, was conceived as a large closed box, with a concavity at the entrance that evokes the horns of phonographs and gramophones. The five exhibition galleries are arranged around a central courtyard, turning the visit into a listening experience of the past in motion.