Safara

A civil parish of Moura set on a plain whose Arabic name means 'open field', Safara is home to the Castelo Velho de Safara, the Ponte Romana, and the lively Festa de São Sebastião held every January.

Safara is a civil parish in the municipality of Moura, in the Alentejo, covering 57.62 km² and home to 1,078 inhabitants (2011). Between 2013 and 2025 it was merged with Santo Aleixo da Restauração, forming the União de Freguesias de Safara e Santo Aleixo da Restauração, and was re-established as an independent parish by Law no. 25-A/2025 of 14 March. Human occupation dates back to the Iron Age, when a fortified settlement — one of the largest of that period in the Alentejo — was established here; Romans and Arabs also left their mark, and the name itself comes from Arabic, meaning 'plain' or 'open field', a reference to the flat landscape in which the village sits. The heritage includes the Igreja Paroquial (Parish Church), the Ponte Romana (Roman Bridge), the chapels of Santa Ana and São Sebastião, the Cruz da Maroteira, the Castelo Velho de Safara, and the mills of Caveirinha and Santa Marina. The Festa de São Sebastião is held on the weekend closest to 20 January; other traditions include the Baile da Pinha, the Festas das Endoenças during Holy Week (held every two years), the Festas de Santa Ana, and the Semana Cultural. Local associations include the Círculo Artístico Musical Safarense, the Grupo de Forcados Amadores de Safara, and the Casa do Povo, home to the choral group Grupo Coral 'Trigueiras do Alentejo'.