this isn't a village, it's a town with a county title
Sarzedas is the only Aldeia do Xisto to have held a noble title. The County of Sarzedas was created in 1630 by Philip III, and the Counts had their residence in Lisbon, at the Palácio da Palhavã which today houses the Spanish Embassy. That's not a minor detail: it says everything about the scale of the place.
It was a town and the seat of a municipality, and the parish still has around 48 annexed villages. It's 18 km from Castelo Branco, in the scrubland of the Beira Baixa, far from the mountains associated with the other villages in the network. Slate is here, but most of the facades are plastered and painted, many in bold colours with typical Beira Baixa decorations. The houses include what look like manor houses with coats of arms.
The focal point is the Alto de São Jacinto. There stands the Parish Church, and beside it the Campanário with the Bell Tower that survived from the old church on the hilltop. The tower serves today as a viewpoint: climbing up is the quickest way to grasp the size of the village and the scrubland around it. In the square below stands the Pelourinho, built after the charter was confirmed by King Manuel I in 1512. There's more to discover, among chapels, a fountain and ruins of the medieval castle, but it's from the tower that you get the measure of the land.
good to know
- only aldeia do xisto with its own noble title (county of sarzedas, 1630, by philip iii)
- former town and seat of a municipality; charter from king sancho i (1212), confirmed by king manuel i (1512)
- parish of around 1,500 residents and 48 annexed villages, one of the largest in the aldeias do xisto network
- bell tower at alto de são jacinto now serves as a viewpoint over the scrubland
- surrounded by scrubland, not mountains; plastered facades with bold colours typical of beira baixa
