Alte

Alte
Parish

Coat of arms
Alte
Coordinates: 37°14′10″N 8°10′34″W / 37.236°N 8.176°W / 37.236; -8.176Coordinates: 37°14′10″N 8°10′34″W / 37.236°N 8.176°W / 37.236; -8.176
Country Portugal
Region Algarve
Subregion Algarve
Intermunic. comm. Algarve
District Faro
Municipality Loulé
Area
 • Total 94.33 km2 (36.42 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 1,997
 • Density 21/km2 (55/sq mi)

Alte is a village and civil parish in the municipality of Loulé, in the Algarve region in the south of Portugal.[1] The population in 2011 was 1,997,[2] in an area of 94.33 km².[3]

Situated away from the coast, Alte is known as one of the most typical and unspoilt villages in the region of the Algarve. The village contains Algarve style whitewashed houses, traditional chimneys, and cobbled alleys. The Portuguese poet Cândido Guerreiro was born in Alte, in 1871.

At Fonte Pequena (see photo below), a set of azulejo panels displays a portrait of Guerreiro, probably Alte's most celebrated son, together with some of his poems, the most emblematic of which goes like this:

“

Porque nasci ao pé de quatro montes
Por onde as águas passam a cantar
As canções dos moinhos e das fontes,
Ensinaram-me as águas a falar.

(As the place where I was born lies encircled by four hills
Through which waters run singing
The songs of fountains and mills,
Waters taught me to speak.)

 ”
— Cândido Guerreiro

In James A. Michener's novel The Drifters, Alte serves as the main setting of the chapter Algarve, being recommended to the protagonists by a customs officer who wants them "to know Portugal at its best."

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Diário da República. "Law nr. 11-A/2013, page 552 61" (pdf) (in Portuguese). Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  2. ↑ Instituto Nacional de Estatística
  3. ↑ Direção-Geral do Território

External links

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