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If Santar were a musical work, its melody would spring from its architecture and its rhythm from its rolling vineyards. And it would not be just any music. Rather, it would be one of those Baroque masterpieces where every note resonates with gravitas—the Roman word for something noble, dignified, marked by eminence, substance, and depth.

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Largo do Paço

This substance and depth are stamped on the village’s nerve centre, Largo do Paço. “Substance” because this was the place where the power of local aristocrats made itself felt in full. “Depth” because, across the centuries, its hewn-stone edges have stood as silent witnesses to events that shaped the fate of the Terras do Dão. At its centre stands a sober, dignified stone cross—exactly as suits the people of this proudly traditional village.

Today, Largo do Paço is not merely a stage for memories. It is a living space that becomes an open-air theatre during lively historical re-enactments. On such occasions, the past is no longer a distant tale but a celebration of the glories and dramas etched into collective memory.

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Paço dos Cunhas

The most striking emblem of those dramas is the imposing Mannerist gateway that presides over Largo do Paço. Elegant yet severe, it leads to the reborn Paço dos Cunhas.

Built in 1609, the Paço’s history is marked by the betrayal of D. Lopo da Cunha, a nobleman who chose to swear loyalty to the Spanish Habsburg dynasty rather than to King João IV. During the Portuguese Restoration War, his conspiracy against the Portuguese crown earned him exile and the confiscation of the Paço. The property then fell into ruin, a husk of stone recalling the fragility of ever-changeable fortune.

In the 21st century this past of glory and decline opened a new chapter. Today, the former manor is a prestigious food-and-wine destination that pairs a fine-dining restaurant with one of the region’s most emblematic vineyards, the Vinha do Contador.

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Casa de Santar

The neighbouring Casa de Santar offers a direct counterpoint to this tale of rupture. If the Paço embodies interruption, the Casa embodies permanence and continuity.

Owned by the same family since the 16th century, its architecture attests to an unbroken lineage through a palimpsest of styles layered over generations. Here you find an early core, Baroque extensions from the 1700s, and a 19th-century Neoclassical balcony.

Carved along one side of the village’s main artery stands the revivalist Chafariz da Carranca. Inspired by 18th-century models, it bears the Casa de Santar’s coat of arms and a gaping mask through which water pours.

Casa de Santar has grown, adding layers of taste and time with the harmony only long possession can achieve. It owns the famed Vinha dos Amores, set on a hillside where local sweethearts once met in secret—a place where romance blossomed amid a landscape of singular beauty.

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Torreão da Alameda

With an even broader sweep and sense of atmosphere, the same landscape can be admired from the charismatic Torreão at Quinta da Alameda. Adjoining the Vinha dos Amores, it looks out over one of the most striking natural vistas in this enchanting corner of the Beiras: framed by the distant peaks of the Estrela and Caramulo ranges, the eye drinks in a rich tapestry of vineyards, green pinewoods, and whitewashed villages across the Terras do Dão.

Spanning three centuries of history, the Torreão first served as a lookout for supervising agricultural work in the surrounding fields. With that function long past, this architectural landmark now stands as a leading symbol of Quinta da Alameda’s reverence for the values and traditions of its wine region.

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Lagareta do Barroco

Santar’s wine tradition likely reaches back to Roman times. Yet the oldest physical evidence here is the Lagareta do Barroco.

Hidden among leafy oaks, this modest archaeological site consists of a circular surface carved directly into one of the area’s typical granite outcrops. Its operation was simple and ingenious: the structure comprised a large basin—the calcatorium, where grapes were trodden—and a lower lacus that collected the free-run must. With crosses marked on its ashlar blocks, the adjacent service room suggests that fermentation took place on site.

According to local memory, this medieval lagareta was still in use in the mid-20th century. Its existence proves that people long ago grasped the exceptional quality of the local terroir.

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The Vineyards of Santar

This terroir of elegant, complex wines is the key to understanding the elegance and complexity of Santar’s heritage. Here, vineyards are the great defining force—of the people, the traditions, the architecture, the landscape.

Unlike other parts of the Dão, where vineyards often hide discreetly among pinewoods, in Santar the ever-present vines command the view both near and far.

The grape varieties here occupy the top tier of Portuguese oenology. Alongside Jaen, Alfrocheiro, and Tinta Roriz, this soil yields some of the most graceful and sublime expressions of Encruzado and Touriga Nacional.

Hence vineyards are the chief sustenance of the village’s story, the source of wealth that enabled the building of its remarkable heritage. Their steady presence within the urban fabric—woven into kitchen gardens, verandas, and historic grounds—is a distinctive feature that fuses built and agricultural space in a rare, harmonious way.

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Casa das Fidalgas

Equally harmonious is the marriage of Baroque and Neoclassical at Casa das Fidalgas. Erected in the 17th century on the base of a medieval tower, this stately residence likely owes its intriguing name to three unmarried sisters who lived there.

In the 20th century its status rose further when it was donated to the Portuguese Royal House. Today, after meticulous architectural and landscape restoration, the historic manor is a luxurious hotel and spa.

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Casa do Soito

Casa do Soito is a vibrant example of the Rococo, that exuberant offshoot of the Baroque that swept Europe from France. Its façade is a celebration of movement, with ornamented staircases, theatrical flourish, and windows framed by thick volutes.

The house was conceived as a riposte to the Paço dos Cunhas, a clear display of emulation and rivalry among the village’s noble families. Later, in a twist of fate, the owner of the Soito bought the ruined Paço and united the two properties into one estate.

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Church of the Misericórdia of Santar

Before he ruined himself and his Paço, D. Lopo da Cunha performed a charitable act that softened the mark of his high treason: he donated land for the Church of the Misericórdia of Santar, founded in 1632. Architecturally, the building is a compendium of styles that reflect centuries of interventions.

Mannerist in character, the church underwent successive changes that lent it Baroque and Joanine accents. The façade gained tall windows, niches, and an imposing pediment; later came the roofed balcony and the bell tower crowned by a bulbous spire and flame-shaped finials. Inside, it preserves 19th-century ashlar stonework, gilded retables, and the memory of many hands that shaped it.

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Parish Church of São Pedro

Much older, the parish church stands in one of the village’s most significant historic nuclei. Its composition shows a strong contrast: outside, the hard sobriety of granite prevails; inside, the half-light is gently pierced by the restrained gleam of gilded woodcarving.

The church was probably founded in the Romanesque period (12th century), though an earlier origin is not implausible.

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Santar’s Aristocratic Bearing

Although speculative, one argument for this remote foundation lies in the origin of the name “Santar”. Legend has it that it comes from an order by King Afonso II to assentar—to make camp—after a victorious battle. The more likely explanation, however, is the ancient Visigothic personal name Sentarius.

Even so, the legend better captures the essence of Santar as a privileged place of enjoyment and nobility. In the past, the village’s aristocratic character even earned it the temporary title “Cortes da Beira” (meaning the "Court at Beira", the ancient region where it is located) because so many nobles resided here that much of the royal court was effectively present—not in the capital, but in Santar.

That past of eminence, substance, and historical depth is what one senses—and savours—on a visit to the village: in the granite of its coats of arms, in the vinous fruits of its generous vineyards, and in the noble poise of its towers and manor houses. Like an underlying melody, gravitas suffuses everything in Santar.

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Article reviewed by Patrícia Santos, head winemaker at Quinta da Alameda. She holds a degree in Oenology from UTAD (University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 2001), and trained under the guidance of Anselmo Mendes. Her experience spans the wine regions of Dão, Bairrada, and Beira Interior, as well as Arribes.