the heart of the schist is rendered white
The village's slogan is 'Heart of Schist' and it has a reason: Sobral de São Miguel may be one of the largest concentrations of schist buildings in Portugal. The peculiarity is that you can't tell. The great majority of facades are rendered and painted white, like Álvaro, also in the network. You look from outside, you see white; you go in, you realise the structure is schist.
There's a further detail that supports the slogan. Two quarries in the vicinity extract schist and slate, and the stone that leaves from here covers walls in other Aldeias do Xisto, in some Aldeias Históricas, in France and in Belgium. Sobral exports itself.
The village joined the AdX network in 2010 and sits at 560m in the Serra do Açor, 40 km from Covilhã via the EN230. Until 1970 it was called Sobral de Casegas and only got its current name in February of that year. In between lies the Ribeira do Posim with mill channels and mills in the bed, the Casa-Museu João dos Santos with everyday objects, the communal ovens in the upper part, and the Igreja Matriz rendered white like everything else. The local Caminho do Xisto is a walking circuit of about 8 km, climbing from 550 to 925 metres.
good to know
- 'heart of schist': one of the largest concentrations of schist buildings in portugal, but seen white from a distance
- two local quarries export schist and slate to aldeias históricas, france and belgium
- ribeira do posim cuts through the village, with mill channels and mills
- casa-museu joão dos santos, communal ovens and rendered igreja matriz
- local caminho do xisto: walking circuit of about 8 km between 550 and 925m altitude
