they used to shut the gates at night to keep the wolves out
Figueira is rare among the Aldeias do Xisto: it's almost flat, easy to get around. It's not the village clinging to a cliff face that you picture by default. It sits on a small rise between the Serra de Alvelos and the scrubland, and it's elongated, with parallel and perpendicular alleyways that form a maze.
The old quarter dates to the 17th century and was designed as a small fortress. The houses line up to form a wall, and at the entrances there were gates that were shut at night to stop wolves getting in and attacking the chickens, the goats, and the rest of the livestock. You can still see traces of the doors today.
The landmark is the communal oven, and it has a peculiar detail: on the wall there's a board with 32 holes, one per family. Each house had its own wooden tile and whoever wanted to bake bread put the tile in the corresponding hole. Around the village, olive trees: the "green gold" that was once Figueira's wealth.
good to know
- almost flat village, rare among slate villages (almost all are on steep hillsides)
- houses arranged like a wall, with gates at the entrances that were shut at night against wolves
- communal oven with a 32-hole board for booking (one tile per family)
- 17th-century central core, around 16 residents; surrounded by olive trees ("green gold")
