Samora Correia

How long to stay?

A break is enough, allow a good hour. You arrive after 15.9 kilometres through the shadeless Paul do Almansor, and there are another 10.3 kilometres ahead of you to Benavente. Your time belongs to the parish church with its James tiles, the square in front of it with the Palácio do Infantado, and a lunch in the shade. If you feel the heat and your feet on this day, you can also stay the night here.

Samora Correia in Ninja numbers

• 417.1 km are behind you since Faro, according to Camino Ninja; it's another 35.7 to Benfica do Ribatejo.
• 15.9 km lie between Santo Estêvão and here, around 15 of them through the Paul do Almansor according to the regional pilgrim guide. There is almost no shade on the way except under a motorway bridge.
• Since 1270 at the latest Samora Correia was a commandery of the Order of Santiago. You are back in the land of the Knights of James.
• About half of the parish's area belonged in 2013 to the Companhia das Lezírias, the state-owned company whose land you crossed today.
• Just over €1.1 million was budgeted for the restoration of the parish church and its tiles, with completion planned for the end of 2023.

Arriving: from the Paul to the Almansor

The morning from Santo Estêvão belongs to the Paul do Almansor, a wide, partly flooded lowland with plenty of birds, across land of the Companhia das Lezírias and partly sandy farm tracks. The Almansor once connected Samora Correia with the Sorraia, and in the 14th century cork and grain travelled along it, when the village was considered wealthy. Today Samora Correia grows mainly because Lisbon is close. So you come out of the silence of the wet meadows into a small town with restaurants.

In brief: the name of a knight

Nobody knows where Samora Correia comes from. A document of 1295 mentions the village, and from 1270 at the latest it was a commandery of the Order of Santiago. According to the regional pilgrim guide it bears the name of D. Paio Peres Correia, the Grand Master of the order, who conquered large parts of the south that you have walked across since Faro. King Manuel I granted Samora Correia a municipal charter in 1510, in the 16th century it was the seat of its own municipality, and in 1836 it was absorbed into Benavente.

Two dates shaped the village. In 1654 the Casa do Infantado came into being, the estate of the king's second-born sons, which owned a lot of land here. When it was dissolved in 1834, the Companhia das Lezírias bought its estates. And on 23 April 1909 the earthquake in the lower Tagus valley destroyed almost ninety per cent of Samora Correia.

James on the wall: what to see

Everything important is close together, and without your rucksack you need barely an hour.

• Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira: The parish church was rebuilt between 1718 and 1721; an older building is documented from 1581. Inside, the walls are covered with Baroque azulejos from around 1724, attributed to a Lisbon master with the initials P.M.P. They tell the life of the Apostle James, including, according to the legend, the baptism of Josias, who had betrayed him and was executed with him. For you as a pilgrim, this is the reason to stop in Samora Correia. The church has been protected since 1957 as a building of public interest. With EU money the ceilings, altars, retables and tiles were restored; the project was due to be completed at the end of 2023. We have not found opening or Mass times.
• Palácio do Infantado: The Baroque building stands on the square next to the parish church. It is associated with the Casa do Infantado, and its dating varies between the 17th and the 18th century. After a fire it was converted into a museum and library. We have not found opening times.
• Fonte do Concelho: A medieval fountain, perhaps as old as the village in the 13th century. The arch is original. In the 18th century its water was said to be good for the eyes. We have not found out whether it is drinking water today.

Honestly

• No pilgrim hostel. If you want to sleep here, you sleep privately.
• The arrival is hard. 15.9 kilometres almost without shade, and in summer you arrive in the hottest hours if you didn't set off early.
• The church may be closed. We have not found opening times. If you find yourself in front of a locked door, ask around in the village; the tiles are worth the try.
• Little old town. The 1909 earthquake almost completely destroyed Samora Correia. The parish church of 1718 still stands, but much else is more recent.

Where pilgrims sleep

There is no pilgrim hostel in Samora Correia. Camino Ninja knows of one private pension here. Most pilgrims walk on to Benavente, where the stage of the regional pilgrim guide ends, also without a pilgrim hostel.

Ninja tips

• Have lunch here. The regional pilgrim guide lists restaurants in Samora Correia and no supply on the way from Santo Estêvão. Eat and top up your water before you tackle the last 10.3 kilometres.
• Compare with Alcácer do Sal. If you saw the James tiles there, you can compare here how two villages of the Order of Santiago tell the life of their Apostle.
• Look out for the Fortim de Belmonte. On a hill along the stage from Santo Estêvão lies, according to the regional pilgrim guide, an outpost of the Knights of Santiago, dated to 1207. It is hard to spot.

Onward: along the Sorraia to Benavente

From Samora Correia, according to the regional pilgrim guide of the Turismo do Alentejo e Ribatejo, the Caminho Português Central do Sul follows the Sorraia. After 10.3 kilometres you reach Benavente, where the stage ends at the Praça do Município. To Benfica do Ribatejo, the end of the Way at Camino Ninja, it is 35.7 kilometres from here.

Deep dive: The commandery of the order master

A short read, in case you want to learn more about Samora Correia. About 2 minutes' reading.

A name from the south

When you stand in front of the parish church of Samora Correia, you are standing in a place that bears the name of a warrior. Paio Peres Correia was Grand Master of the Order of Santiago, and under him the knights conquered large parts of the south in the thirteenth century, the south you have walked through since Faro. By 1270 at the latest Samora Correia was a commandery of this order, an estate whose income belonged to the knights. When and how the village came into being is not known. A document from 1295 is one of the earliest traces.

Cork, grain and a river

In the fourteenth century Samora Correia was considered wealthy. Cork and grain were traded, and the Almansor, which connected the village with the Sorraia, played an important part. In 1510 King Manuel the First granted the village a municipal charter, and in the sixteenth century Samora Correia was the seat of its own municipality. Later a lot of the land belonged to the Casa do Infantado, the estate of the younger royal sons, founded in 1654. When this estate was dissolved in 1834, the Companhia das Lezírias bought its holdings. Two years later, in 1836, Samora Correia lost its own municipality and went to Benavente. The Companhia still owns about half of the parish's area today.

The Apostle on the wall

In 1718 work began on rebuilding the parish church, and a few years later, around 1724, it received its tiles. A Lisbon master known only by the initials P.M.P. painted the life of James on them. One scene shows, according to the legend, the baptism of Josias, the man who had denounced the Apostle, converted on the way to the execution and died with him. On 23 April 1909 the earth shook in the lower Tagus valley, and Samora Correia was almost ninety per cent destroyed. The church with the Apostle still stands today.

What Samora Correia gives you

You come from a landscape that knights conquered, princes owned and a company still farms to this day. And then you stand in a church where a painter three hundred years ago brought the life of a fisherman from Galilee to the wall, the fisherman whose grave is your destination. From here it is still a long way to Santiago. But rarely is the Apostle as close as here.