Santarém

History

Since prehistory, the region of Santarém has been inhabited, first by the Lusitani people and then by the Greeks, Romans, Visigoths, Arabs and later Portuguese Christians. Of the various legends related to the foundation of Santarém, the most famous tells of the Visigoth Saint Iria (or Irene), who was martyred in Tomar (Nabantia) and whose uncorrupted body reached Santarém. In her honour, the name of the town (then known by its Latin name Scalabis) would later be changed to Sancta Irene, from which Santarém would eventually be derived.

The foundation of the city is attributed to the Romans, who occupied the region in the 2nd century BC and named the city Scalabis. During the Roman period Scalabis was an important commercial post in the mid-Tagus region and was the administrative capital of one of the regions (Conventus Scalabitanus) of Lusitania. Julius Caesar ordered the creation of a military camp in Santarém in 61 BC. The city takes at this time the designation of Scallabis Praesidium Iulium.

The 3rd century crisis and the decline of the Western Roman Empire affected the civitas and in the 5th century the town was conquered by Germanic tribes (Vandals and Alans). In 460, the Visigoths, led by Sunerico, conquered the city and expelled the Alans.

It was probably in the late period of Visigoth domination when the city took a new name after the local martyr Santa Irene, whose remains were credited to have been found near the Tagus. In any case, when the city was taken in the 8th century by the Arabs, they named it Shantarin, as a proof that the old Roman name had already been forgotten. Under the rule of the Arabs the city became an important cultural centre. Important Arab personalities born in Santarém include the poet and historian Ibn Bassam (died 1147) and the poet Ibn Sara (1043–1123).

The period of Arabic domination was finished in 1147 by the first King of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, who conquered the city on March 15. According to period chronicles, the King and a small army managed to take the city after some men climbed the walls during the night and opened the gates. The story of the conquest of Santarém is told in a heroic tone in the medieval chronicle De expugnatione Scalabis, which celebrates and justifies the power of the first Portuguese King. From a military point of view, the conquest of Santarém and, in that same year, of Lisbon were crucial steps in the Reconquista of Portugal.

Geography

Physical geography

The city of Santarém stands is situated on a plateau, located on the right bank of the Tagus River 65 kilometres (40 mi) northeast from Lisbon.

Climate

Santarém has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with mild, humid, rainy winters with temperatures averaging 15 to 16 °C (59 to 61 °F) during the day and 6 to 7 °C (43 to 45 °F) at night, occasionally dropping below 0 °C (32 °F), with an average of 15 days with frost per year; and hot, dry summers with temperatures ranging between 29 and 31 °C (84 and 88 °F) during the day and 15 and 16 °C (59 and 61 °F) at night. The global annual temperature averages 23 °C (73 °F) during the day and 11 °C (52 °F) at night.

On August 7, 2023, the temperature in Santarém reached an all-time recorded high for the city of 46.4 °C (115.5 °F). It was also the highest temperature recorded in the country in 2023 up to that day.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 18 civil parishes (freguesias):

Twin towns and sister cities

Santarém is twinned with:

Architecture

Santarém city centre has several monuments, including the largest and most varied ensemble of gothic churches in Portugal. These include fine examples of transitional Romanesque–Gothic, mendicant (plain style derived from the mendicant orders) and late (flamboyant) Gothic. In addition, the city has nice examples of Manueline, Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque architecture.

Old Castle of Santarém (Porta do Sol): Located on a high slope over the Tagus river and the surrounding landscape, the site of the old castle of Santarém is now a park. Part of the walls and towers of the castle are still preserved.

Church of Saint John of Alporão (Igreja de São João de Alporão): Built between the 12th and the 13th centuries by the Knights Hospitallers, this church is an example of transitional architecture, with a Romanesque main portal and an early Gothic main chapel and vaulting. The arches of the ambulatory of the main chapel show Arabic (Mudéjar) influences. The church now houses a small Archaeological Museum. Its most important piece is the flamboyant Gothic tomb of Duarte de Meneses who disappeared in a battle in North Africa in 1465. His tomb is empty.

Cabaças Tower (Torre das Cabaças): Ancient defensive tower of the mediaeval wall of the city. Houses the Time Museum with an exhibition about the measurement of time through the ages.

Fountain of the Fig Trees (Fonte das Figueiras): Rare example of a 14th-century fountain in Portugal, decorated with merlons and coats-of-arms of Portugal and King Dinis I.

Convent of Saint Claire (Convento de Santa Clara): 13th-century convent. Good example of Portuguese mendicant Gothic style. It also included a now lost altarpiece by the Mannerist artist Diogo de Contreiras.

Convent of Saint Francis (Convento de São Francisco): Another 13th-century convent in medicant style. Has a nice Gothic cloister. King Ferdinand I was buried here.

Church of Saint Stephen – Sanctuary of the Most Holy Miracle (Igreja de Santo Estevão – Santuário do Santíssimo Milagre): Home to the 13th-century Eucharistic Miracle of Santarém, a popular destination among Catholics worldwide.

Sport and leisure

The National Agricultural Fair has taken place since 1954. The annual event is held on the grounds of the CNEMA - National Exhibition Center and Agricultural Markets, south of the city. From 1999 to 2001 the main arena (39°13′05″N 8°41′52″W) was converted into a motorcycle speedway track and held a round of the 1999 European Club Champions' Cup and the 2000 Under-21 World Championship.

Notable citizens

Early times

John of Biclaro (ca.540 - after 621) a Visigoth chronicler.

Ibn Bassām (1058–1147) an Arab poet and historian from al-Andalus

Blanche of Portugal (1259–1321) an infanta, the firstborn child of King Afonso III of Portugal

Moses Navarro (?-1370 in Lisbon) was Chief Rabbi in the court of Peter I of Portugal for 30 years, influenced legislation and royal actions in favor of the Jewish community in Portugal.

Afonso de Alprão (died 1422), Franciscan friar and writer

John, Constable of Portugal (1400–1442) an infante, the son of King John I of Portugal

Ferdinand the Holy Prince (1402–1443) the sixth and youngest son of King John I of Portugal

Pedro Álvares Cabral (1467/1468 – c. 1520 in Santarém) was a noble, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal.

Fernão Lopes de Castanheda (c. 1500–1559) was a historian in the early Renaissance. His History of the discovery and conquest of India, full of geographic and ethnographic objective information, was widely translated throughout Europe.

Gaspar do Casal (1510–1584) Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Funchal.

Estácio de Sá (1520–1567) a soldier and officer; waged war for the Portuguese crown in the colony of Brazil on the French colonists; founded the city of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro near the Sugarloaf Mountain, Brazil.

More modern times

Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo (1795–1876) a general officer and the Prime Minister of Portugal 1836/7

Alfredo Holtreman, Viscount of Alvalade (1837–1920), lawyer for the royal household in Lisbon and philanthropist who was the protector and first chairman of Sporting Portugal

Alice Pestana (1860–1929) a prolific Portuguese writer and pacifist.

Henrique Campos (1909–1983) a Portuguese film director.

Ruy Duarte de Carvalho (1941–2010) a poet, writer, anthropologist and filmmaker

Salgueiro Maia (1944 – 1992 in Santarém), a captain in the Portuguese Army, key figure in the Carnation Revolution of 1974, was stationed at the army base in Santarém.

Mário Viegas (1948–1996) actor, theater director and poetry reciter.

Carlos Tavares (born 1958), former CEO of Stellantis.

Fausto J Pinto (born 1960) cardiologist, medical academic and former Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon

Rui Silva (born 1977) middle-distance athlete, gold medallist in 1500m at the 2001 World Indoor Championships.

Ana Moura (born 1979), singer and notable modern exponent of the Fado genre, brought up in Coruche.

Inês Henriques (born 1980) a race walker, competed at the 2004 and 2012 Summer Olympics

Vera Santos (born 1981) a Portuguese race walker.