A special enclave in the conurbation of Lisbon 🇵🇹

Where: Alcochete, Portugal

“He understood that trade was more important than war.” Joãm de Copas said to me as we stood in front of a painting in his property’s primary study room in the town of Alcochete, a city across across the Tagus River from Lisbon. Joãm was referring to the protagonist of the piece, Prince Pedro of Portugal who also held the title of Duke of Coimbra. Having not been heir apparent for the Portuguese throne, the Duke had travelled and studied in many different kingdoms–A practice to such extent, unheard of by royalty during that period of time.

A painting of Prince Pedro of Portugal by Portuguese artist, Lima de Freitas

The captivating, almost mystical painting was created by Portuguese artist, Lima de Freitas, dated 1989. It came into Joãm’s possession through a purchase from de Freitas’ widow. As the story goes, there was interest from an international buyer. Coincidentally, Joãm showed interest a day before the international buyer was to make an offer. The widow took a liking to the painting staying on Portuguese soil, and so, performed the transaction with Joãm.

I had booked a suite on Joãm’s property to stay the night as I was travelling from Beja in the mid-south to Porto in the north. It was the paintings in the study room that got us talking more in-depth about a variety of topics and the property.

The property

The Jardim de Copas property has the feeling of being a tucked-away enclave within Alcochete, a municipality in the conurbation of Lisbon. It boasts three regular rooms with eight additional rooms that Joãm was finishing the coming week, much garden and reading space, a pool, a well that sources the property’s water, and other interesting structures and plants.

Estate proprietor, Joãm de Copas picking oranges from an orange tree during Andrew Schiestel’s visit

The property came into de Copas’ family via his great grandparents in 1885. “The grandmother of my father had a very wealthy uncle.” Joãm explained to me as we walked inside another building on the property that acted as an informal museum, and which once operated as the family’s winery.

“With the marriage [to his great grandmother], my great grandfather could buy many [much] land in the area.”

A photo from a building on the property that formerly operated as the family’s winery

The “wealthy uncle” Joãm spoke about never had children, and it was Jõam’s great grandmother, and her sister, that became the heirs to their uncle’s estate. In an interesting side story, Joãm said that the uncle was paid in “silver and land”. And the property once became the successful target of the infamous Portuguese robber, Jose do Telhado, who had the special skill of breaking into homes through roofs, always meticulously planned when no one was home.

An older period of time

At one point Joãm reflected on the way life used to be in the area.

“We had land 40km from here,” Joãm reminisced. “My grandfather used to leave this house very early on Fridays by horse to pay the employees, have lunch with them, and then come back by noon.”

“It was a different time back then.”

“[But] I saw a glimpse as a child.”

The eve & morning

That night I stepped out to go for a walk along the Tagus River at about 11:30pm. I could still hear Joãm on the second floor of a building dedicated to further accommodations. I paid him a visit upon return—He would continue the work of laying corked tiled flooring into the early morning, preparing eight new rental units for Erasmus students from Hungary whom were arriving the following week.

Another of de Freitas’ paintings was that of the local mountain spectacle, Sintra, Portugal’s largest mountain, and a favourite destination for generations by past Portuguese royalty. (And Sintra being a place where Joãm ran a cultural organization for many years) As we stood by the painting, Joãm and I spoke in length about the painting and it transmuted into a dialogue on quantum physics. Intrigued with Sintra, I set off to visit it in the morning, as another stop on my way to Porto.

Another painting by de Freitas, this one of Portugal’s largest mountain, Sintra

About a 30-minute drive from Lisbon is the municipality of Alcochete. A place that despite being so close to Portugal’s capital, presents, ostensibly, a more traditional Portuguese way of life. And within this little municipality is a property that will go unnoticed by almost every daily tourist. But for those that look, at Jardim de Copas, there is much to discover.