INTRODUCTION                                                                                                                 La Raya / A Raia  (The Line)  is the name given to the territories which lie along the borderline separating Spain and Portugal; particularly those in the Spanish province of Extremadura and the neighboring Portuguese Alentejo.  Throughout history this region has been a crossroads, a perennial frontier fought over by competing peoples, empires and religions.   During the centuries of warfare between the medieval Christian kingdoms of northern Spain and Muslim al-Andalus to  the  south,  contested  lands ‘beyond the Duero River’ were  collectively  known  as  Extremadura.

It is a sparsely populated landscape of golden grassland dotted with stands of dark green oak and silvery olive trees,  where giant boulders rise  abruptly  like  sentinels  towering  over  the  endless plains.

The heartland of La Raya is defined by the Tajo and Guadiana rivers and their winding tributaries which have served as territorial markers from time immemorial.   But despite shifting political boundaries the region has shared a common cultural heritage since prehistoric times.

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PREHISTORY                                                                                                                       In the dawn of prehistory  La Raya witnessed its first clash of cultures as early modern humans spread across Europe displacing the previous Neanderthal population.  Archaeological  evidence reveals that the southwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula became the last stand of the Neanderthals,  who survived there for millennia after having disappeared (by extinction or assimilation) everywhere else. Fascinating traces of prehistory abound throughout the region.   The Maltravieso Cave on the outskirts of Caceres contains rock paintings dating from 23,000 years ago including depictions of animals and numerous outlined hand prints.  These hands reach out to us pro-claiming  “we were here”  in an unbroken  chain  of  human  experience stretching  across  the  mists  of  time.

          

The  Lapa dos Gavioes is a shallow rock shelter nestled in a pine clad hillside near the Portuguese town of Arronches that once sheltered the prehistoric hunter-gatherers of the region.   It contains rare open-air rock paintings, dating from the late Paleolithic to the Neolithic periods.   The well-preserved pictographs feature red ochre drawings of stylized human and animal figures and geometric patterns of lines  and  dots  whose  long-lost  message  still  intrigues  us.

At the nature park of Los Barruecos near Caceres huge granite boulders  lie  strewn  across the  landscape,  piled atop one another like gigantic sculptures, surrounded by ponds and marshes fre-quented  by  migratory  birds  and  nesting  storks.    Archaeologists have found here evidence of the first agriculturalists in the region, dating from the sixth millennium BCE.   Amidst the rocks there are petroglyphs  and  ancient  tombs  carved  into  freestanding   boulders.

About seven thousand years ago, La Raya was part of an Atlantic megalithic culture that extended from the British Isles to northwest France and the Iberian Peninsula.   The great cromlech of Almendres near Evora in Portugal is the oldest astronomically aligned stone circle in Europe, predating Stonehenge.  Built from about 6,000 to 4,000  BCE,  it is a  concentric  arrangement of 95  stones  marking the changing  seasons.

       

Single standing stones called menhirs are found throughout the region.  At Almendres an isolated menhir located northeast of the great circle points to the direction of the sunrise during the winter solstice.   La Raya  appears to have been a major cultural center for the megalith builders, attested by many impressive sites, including the Menhir of Meada, the tallest standing stone in the Iberian Peninsula  located  near  the  Portuguese  town  of  Castelo  de  Vide.

  Menhirs of Almendres (Left) and Meada (Right)

Across  the  Spanish  border  toward  Valencia de  Alcantara  is  one  of the largest concentrations of dolmens, or portal tombs, in Europe. These astonishing structures built out of huge stone slabs were originally covered by earthen mounds.   Termed ‘antas’ in Portugal, they have  long  been  endowed with magical properties in folk legends that attribute their construction to giants or to magical enchantresses  called  mouras.

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THE LEGACY OF ROME                                                                                               The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula  (Hispania) lasted for two hundred years before it was finally consolidated.   The Lusitanian Celtic peoples who inhabited the territory of La Raya were among those who resisted with fierce rebellions like the one led by Viriatus in the second century BCE.   The region was finally subdued by Julius Caesar in 60 BCE  and incorporated into the empire under Augustus, who reorganized the territory of Hispania into the three provinces of Tarraconensis, Baetica and Lusitania.  The Guadiana River was the boundary dividing the rich olive growing lands of Baetica  (mostly in present-day Andalucia) from the wilder territory of Lusitania which extended from Extremadura to the Atlantic coast of Portugal.

Large  country  estates  were  hubs of agricultural production (over twenty Roman villas have been discovered  near  the  Spanish town of  Zafra).    Olive  groves and vine-yards were planted  and  the famed Iberian pigs fed on the acorns produced by vast stands of oak in the ecologically balanced dehesa system  still  practiced  today.

Statue of Ceres, Roman Goddess of Agriculture & Fertility,  from  Merida.

Under Roman rule political stability,  combined with improved means of communication and trade, led to rapid urbanization throughout the region.  An impressive road system built by the legionaries connected the new urban centers.  The famous Via de la Plata ran north from Hispalis (Sevilla) to Emerita (Merida), past Norba Cesarina (Caceres), and on to the rich gold mines of Leon province where  the  VII  Legion  was  permanently  stationed.

Emerita  Augusta  (Merida)  was the capital of Lusitania,  first settled in 25 BCE by the veterans of Augustus’ X and VI legions.   While the roads, bridges and aqueducts bore witness to Roman engineering genius, Merida’s gleaming marble temples and theaters were designed as  showcases  to  extol  and  promote  Roman  civilization.

The Archeological Ensemble of Merida, a UNESCO World Heritage site,  has the most extensive and well preserved Roman ruins in Iberia and the outstanding National Museum of Roman Art displays hundreds  of sculptures,  mosaics,  inscriptions  and  artifacts  painting a  fascinating   picture  of  daily  life  in  Roman  times.

Many towns and cities of La Raya can trace their origins back to the Roman period.  While some have retained their importance others have disappeared altogether, by-passed by time, leaving scant remnants of their former glory. Little remains of the once popu-lous Roman city of Ammaia, which flourished between the 1st and 4th centuries CE, along the banks of the  Sever  River  beneath  the promontory  of  Marvao.

Idanha-a-Velha  (the Roman Egitania)  is a tiny Portuguese village encircled by ancient walls, seemingly set in the middle of nowhere and suspended in time.   But this sleepy farming community was once an important early Christian bishopric, the birthplace of Visigothic kings and before that a  thriving  Roman city which contributed to the construction  of  the  great  Alcantara  Bridge  over  the  Tajo  River.

Dedicated to Emperor Trajan in 103 CE, it is a spectacular feat of engineering  that  has  remained  in  constant  use  up  to  this  day.   A small temple to the emperor and the gods of Rome also contains the tomb  of the  intrepid  bridge builder, Gaius Julius Lacer.   It  sits on  a bluff  above  the river  overlooking  his  enduring  creation.

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AL-ANDALUS                                                                                                                     The 4th and 5th centuries CE saw the gradual dissolution of Roman power in the wake of successive waves of invasion by Germanic tribes in their westward migration across Europe.  From among these, the Visigoths won a tenuous hold over the Iberian Peninsula, ruling a fractious kingdom from their capital at Toledo.  When the king’s rivals sought help from allies in North Africa, an army of Berbers newly converted to militant Islam found the territory of the Visigoths ripe for conquest.   In  711  the Umayyad  general  Tariq  led an expe-ditionary force across the Straits of Gibraltar (Jabal Tariq or Tariq’s Mountain)  and  toppled  the  weakened  kingdom.

Merida, which had retained its wealth and importance under the rule of powerful Christian bishops,  fell after a protracted siege in 713.   La Raya became part of al-Andalus, (the name given to the Iberian territories  under  Muslim  rule)  subject  to  the  powerful  Caliphate of Cordoba and, after its fragmentation, to the independent Taifa Kingdom  of  Badajoz.

For the most part,  different  cultures and religions coexisted peace-fully in al-Andalus;  but ethnic divisions within Muslim society and the heavy tax burdens imposed on the Christian population led to sporadic uprisings.  The 9th century rebel leader Ibn Marwan,  whose Galician ancestors had converted to Islam and become governors of Merida,  typifies  the  mixed  society  and  fluid  alliances of the times. He led a rebellion against the Caliphate,  fleeing to the impregnable fastness of Marvao  and  allying with the  Christian Kingdom  of  Leon. He was eventually granted his own lands by the caliph, where he founded  the  city  of  Badajoz  (Batalyaws)  and   began  construction of  its  magnificent  Alcazaba  fortress.

The historic city of Evora,  an ancient megalithic center and thriving Roman town, was ruled by the Moors from the 8th to the 12th centuries.  During the Reconquista it was taken by the legendary Portuguese warrior Geraldo Sem Pavor (Gerald the Fearless). Famous for  his  daring  surprise attacks,  he  led a successful guerrilla war against the Moors throughout the Alentejo and Extremadura from 1162-1172,  capturing  numerous  castles  and  towns.   Taken prisoner during the siege of Badajoz,  Gerald was forced to relinquish most of his conquests in exchange for his freedom.  The wily adventurer finally met his end in Morocco where, accused of espionage,  he  was  executed  by  the  Almohads.

           View of Evora Cathedral and Cloister, Portugal                                                    

Begun soon after Geraldo’s conquest, the Cathedral of Evora was built in a robust Romanesque style.  The stone walls topped with crenellations impart an imposing military air to the structure. Battlemented square towers flank the plain façade which was em-bellished with a finely sculpted portal and rose window in the 14th century,   when  the  beautiful  Gothic  cloister  was also added.

Badajoz remained an independent Muslim kingdom ruling over the territory of La Raya until 1230, when in the course of the Recon-quista  it  fell to the king of Leon.   Construction of the cathedral of Badajoz began shortly thereafter and would continue on and off until the 16th century.   Its massive plain exterior lacks the airy grace of flying buttresses and large stained glass windows typical of the prevailing Gothic style.  Instead, due to scarce resources and the practicalities of defense  it stands,  literally,  as a  fortress  of  the  faith.

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RECONQUISTA                                                                                                                   By the 9th century,  only a strip of land at the northernmost edge of Spain remained in Christian hands.  This small enclave would later grow into the kingdoms of Leon,  Castile and Aragon and launch the Reconquista, the centuries-long struggle to wrest the peninsula from Muslim rule.  For all that time La Raya was a perpetual battlefield, subject to the ebb and flow of changing boundaries; as a result large areas became depopulated.  To this day, Extremadura remains the least  populous  region  of  Spain.

To assist with their ongoing crusade the Christian kings relied on military orders like the Templars and Hospitallers who,  together with the Spanish Knights of Santiago and Alcantara and the Portuguese Knights of Christ and Avis, were granted fiefdom of re-conquered lands.  To that end,  the military orders and feudal nobility alike vied in building the numerous fortified castles which still dot the country-side.  Throughout La Raya their remains can be found perched atop almost every natural elevation, seemingly growing out of the rocks. Their lofty towers and crenellated walls command sweeping views of the  landscape  guarding  against  the  approach  of  enemy  armies.

The spectacular promontory of Monsanto (the ‘mons sanctus’ cited by  Roman historians) was sacred to Celtic peoples of the region.  The impregnable heights resisted the Romans and Moors alike.  Its powerful mystical am-biance was recognized by the Portuguese Templars who built a fortress here in the 12th century, incorporating the massive granite boulders into the structure,  as do many of the old stone houses in the picturesque town that clings to  the  steep  slopes  below.

Most of southern Extremadura was controlled by the Knights Templar from their headquarters at Jerez de los Caballeros and imposing  castles  at  Alconchel,  Fregenal  de la  Sierra  and  Burguillos del Cerro.  In 1312 facing charges of heresy and the dissolution of their order, Templar knights staged staged a bloody last stand at their fortress in Jerez de los Caballeros choosing death over surrender. Their landholdings were forfeit to the Crown which sold or granted them  to  loyal  families  among  the  nobility.

       Massive Keep of the Castle High Above the Town of Feria, Spain                  

The  Dukes of  Feria,  based in Zafra,  thus  became  powerful  feudal lords  owning  vast  territories  throughout  the  region.    Landholding patterns established in response to the challenges of the Reconquista gave rise to the latifundia common in Extremadura; where huge tracts of land, neglected by absentee owners and worked by impoverished peasants,  long  hindered  economic  development.

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WORLDS WON & LOST                                                                                          1492 was a momentous year for Spain.  It marked not only the discovery of the New World, but the conclusion of the Reconquista with the fall of Granada,  the  last  bastion  of  Islam  in  the  peninsula. It also marked the expulsion (or forced conversion) of Muslims and Jews and the beginning of a downward spiral of religious and social intolerance  exemplified  by  the  Inquisition.

         

After five centuries as part of al-Andalus, there were large Muslim populations  and  Jewish  communities  throughout  the  region.   The loss of so many farmers, skilled artisans and traders would disrupt and  impoverish  the  economy  of  La Raya.

        

The beautiful Portuguese hilltop town of Castelo de Vide boasts a well preserved medieval Jewish quarter.  Walking along the steep cobblestone streets visitors can still find ancient stone doorways indented to hold a mezuzah.   The former synagogue, restored as a museum, displays the names of victims of the Inquisition (established in  Portugal  in 1536 )  as a  reminder  of  what  was  lost.

            View of the Town and Ancient Doorway,  Castelo de Vide                              

But the exploration and conquest of the Americas opened up new horizons for ambitious adventurers and warriors hardened by centuries of the Reconquista.   Most of the explorers and conquis-tadors of the Americas hailed from Extremadura, including Cortez and  Pizarro,  the  conquerors  of  the  Aztec  and  Inca  empires.

            Statue of Pizarro and City Walls of Trujillo, Spain

When Indianos (those who had made their fortune in the Americas) returned to their hometowns they built mansions to proclaim their new-found wealth and status.  The spectacular walled historical quarter of Caceres (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) reflects this construction boom with its magnificent panoply of Spanish Renaissance buildings. Rivalries played out architecturally as prominent  families  competed  to  build  the  grandest  houses  and the  tallest  towers.

            

The Portuguese were great navigators who led the Age of Discovery from the 15th to the 17th centuries,  acquiring a vast overseas empire and controlling the lucrative trade between Asia and Europe. Portuguese territories extended eastward from the African coasts to India, Southeast Asia and China, and west across the Atlantic to Brazil.   Belem Tower,  built in 1514  to  guard  the  mouth of the Tagus River as part of the coastal fortifications of Lisbon,  is emblematic of Portugal’s  maritime  achievements.

The discovery of gold and diamonds in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, made Portugal the wealthiest country in Europe in the 18th century.  This era of prosperity was reflected architecturally in beautiful buildings of a distinctively Portuguese Baroque style that incorporates azulejos,  blue and white decorative tiles,  inspired by imported  Chinese  porcelains  and  Dutch  imitations  from  Delft.

The gardens of the Episcopal Palace in Castelo Branco, created in 1725,  are  among  the  most  beautiful  Baroque  gardens  in Portugal. Its clipped hedges, fountains and statuary featuring Portuguese monarchs, Christian saints and allegories of the zodiac, the seasons and  the  continents  represent  a  cultural  compendium  of  the  age.

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THE DISASTERS OF WAR                                                                                               In the 16th century, under Charles V and Phillip II,  Spain had reached the height of its power, reflected in the literary and artistic achieve-ments of the Golden Age.   But Spain’s rulers squandered the vast wealth of the Americas in a series of ruinous religious and territorial wars.  Not least of these, the Portuguese Restoration War (1640-1668)  that  devastated  La  Raya.

The kingdom of Portugal had become independent from Spain in the 12th century, but had briefly reverted to Spanish rule under the Hapsburgs.  Marriage alliances between Portuguese and Spanish nobility resulted in shifting boundaries and competing territorial claims (sovereignty over the town of Olivenza is still disputed).  The Spanish town of Valencia del Mombuey, sacked and twice burnt to the  ground  by  Portuguese  troops,  is  emblematic  of  the  period.

At this time, warfare was being dramatically transformed by the widespread adoption of gunpowder and cannons.   Ancient walls that had withstood assault for centuries were now suddenly vulnerable to artillery fire.   In response, a new style of fortification arose; star-shaped forts were designed in complex shapes with projecting triangular  bastions  and  massive  sloping  earthworks.   

Star forts originated in Italy in the mid 16th century and quickly spread to the rest of Europe, reaching their apogee with the designs of Dutch and French military architects in the 17th century.  The extensive fortifications of the Portuguese town of Elvas  (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) are among the best-preserved in Europe, and are  mirrored  across  the  frontier  by  the  bastions  of  Badajoz.

In the early 19th century, Napoleon’s territorial ambitions would have dire consequences for Spain and Portugal.  The forts of La Raya were the scene of major battles between the British-led Alliance and French forces in the Spanish War of Independence against Napoleon (1807-1814) as the region was again subjected to the violent depredations  so  vividly  portrayed  in  the contemporary  paintings and  prints  of  Goya.    

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INTO THE MODERN AGE                                                                                             At the turn of the 20th century,  Extremadura enjoyed a period of prosperity and commercial expansion fueled by new technologies and improved means of communication.  Newly built railroad lines spurred the growth of regional urban centers like Merida and Badajoz, where wealthy merchants built grand storefronts and mansions  in  fashionable  styles like  Andalusian  Regionalism  and the  Modernista  architecture  of  Gaudí.

        

The  Spanish and  Portuguese  empires had  crumbled  in  the  course of the 19th century  as  their  former  colonies  gained  independence; an economic reversal that would have far reaching social and political consequences.  The progressive ideas of the ’98 Generation and the Spanish Second Republic now spread to towns like Fregenal de la Sierra,  where a liberal newspaper was published,  agrarian reform was  promoted  and  civic improvements  carried  out.   But persistent socioeconomic problems led to protests and upheavals and ultimately to the bloody Civil War (1936-1939) bitterly fought in Extremadura.   For centuries families in La Raya  had intermarried across the border.  During the Civil War many Spaniards fleeing persecution  found  refuge  with  relatives  and  friends  in  Portugal.

In the following decades,  the region experienced  massive emigration in search of economic opportunities.   While cities like Badajoz  grew rapidly, their historic centers ringed by blocks of modern buildings, many small towns saw their populations age and decline.   But tech-nology can now connect the smallest town to worldwide networks.

The region could also benefit from the development of renewable energy resources like its abundant intense sunshine.   In 2007 the tiny Portuguese town of Amaraleja became home to the largest solar power plant in Europe and a smaller plant operates across the border in nearby Valencia del Mombuey.

There is renewed interest in the sustainable ecological practices of the ancient dehesa system, and traditional agricultural industries (like the famed Iberian ham)  continue  to  be  economic  mainstays. The Portuguese Alentejo region is the world’s largest producer of natural  cork,  and  is  enjoying  a  burgeoning  wine  industry.

The Alqueva reservoir of the Guadiana River created the largest artificial lake in Europe and is being developed for agricultural and recreational uses.  A growing number of tourists are, at long last, discovering the region’s fascinating historical monuments and un-spoiled picturesque  countryside.    For the soul of La Raya resides in its small towns; the ancestral roots families return to, where cherished  traditions  are  preserved.