São Martinho

How long to stay?

An afternoon is enough, though really it is a night. You arrive after 22.6 km from Alcácer do Sal, and it is still 21.6 to Vendas Novas. Here, or one kilometre earlier in Casebres, most pilgrims split the long stretch. There is little to visit, and that makes the afternoon easy: feet up, a café, an early night.

São Martinho in Ninja numbers

• 329.3 km lie behind you since Faro according to Camino Ninja, with 123.5 still ahead to Benfica do Ribatejo.
• 22.6 and 21.6 km: That is the distance from Alcácer do Sal to here and from here to Vendas Novas. Without this stop it would be 44.2 in one go.
• 3.9 inhabitants per square kilometre was the figure for the parish of São Martinho in 2021: 349 people on 88.59 square kilometres. You won't find much company here.
• 8 December 1966: On this day the seat of the parish moved to Casebres.

Arriving: cork oaks, solar park, then the quiet road

The Caminho Português Central do Sul leaves Alcácer do Sal to the north, over a bridge across the A2 motorway and through cork oak forest to the gate of the Vale de Reis estate, next to which lies a large solar park. After that it goes over the hill of the church and for about five and a half kilometres through woods. The last seven and a half kilometres to Casebres you walk on an almost flat, quiet road. In the Camino Ninja chain, São Martinho lies one kilometre beyond Casebres. São Martinho is also the name of the parish whose main village is Casebres. There you will find what you need after this day.

In brief: land of the knights

The area was settled as early as prehistoric times, but its place names only appear in the records after the final conquest of Alcácer do Sal. After that it was land of the Order of Santiago. The parish church of São Martinho was a priory of the order, which ran a farming estate here. In the 13th century the order granted the commandery of Bemposta to a woman, Maria Martins. It brought in 100 pounds a year. The old parish church stood at a place simply called "Freguesia". Since the administrative reforms of the 19th century it has belonged to the neighbouring municipality of Montemor-o-Novo. The oldest parish registers date from 1651. On 8 December 1966, Casebres became the seat of the parish.

Where pilgrims sleep

Camino Ninja does not list a pilgrim hostel with fixed beds here. The regional pilgrim guide names the Junta de Freguesia in Casebres as the contact point for pilgrims, and that is where you ask for a place to sleep: +351 265 649 124. It is best to call already from Alcácer do Sal. The holiday homes that Camino Ninja lists for São Martinho are private rentals. Check how far they are from the Way before booking.

Honestly

• There is hardly anything to see. The old parish church, once a priory of the knights, stood at a place that now belongs to the neighbouring municipality. If you are looking for monuments, you found them yesterday in Alcácer do Sal and will find them tomorrow in Vendas Novas.
• There is no water on the way. For the 22.6 km from Alcácer, the pilgrim guide names no water point and no café before Casebres. Buy supplies the evening before.
• Tomorrow can get hot. Beyond Casebres you walk about three and a half kilometres through dense eucalyptus, later through sand and cork oaks. The guide warns that it can get hot.

Ninja tips

• Check in with the Junta. In Casebres there are two cafés, a park with benches and a cash machine. According to the pilgrim guide, the Junta de Freguesia expects pilgrims and arranges accommodation.
• Plan the detour to Cabrela. Tomorrow after 8.2 km, Cabrela lies about one kilometre off the Way. The pilgrim guide recommends a bifana there and the Filhós de Cabrela, a fried pastry. On the church facade, where the year 1704 is written, you can see the cross of the Order of Santiago. The order had received the village before 1220 as a station between Setúbal and the Alentejo.
• Set off early. With 21.6 km to Vendas Novas and the guide's heat warning, a start at sunrise is worth it.

Onward: to Vendas Novas

From São Martinho it is 21.6 km on the Caminho Português Central do Sul to Vendas Novas. After the eucalyptus come pines, a stretch of road and the Palhavã estate with sandy tracks through cork oaks. Cabrela lies off the Way after 8.2 km. The Way through the Alentejo is looked after by Turismo do Alentejo e Ribatejo.

Deep dive: A parish that moved

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

A name without a centre

When you arrive in São Martinho, you may be looking for a village square with a church and not find one. That is not your fault. São Martinho is above all the name of a parish, and this parish has moved its centre more than once. Almost ninety square kilometres of cork oaks, pines and fields, and only a few hundred people living on them today.

The knights' estate

After the Christians finally conquered Alcácer do Sal, the land around it fell to the Order of Santiago. The knights were not only warriors, they were landlords. The church of São Martinho was their priory, and next to it they ran an estate. In the thirteenth century the order gave the commandery of Bemposta to a woman called Maria Martins, who drew a hundred pounds a year from it.

The church that lost its village

The old parish church stood at a place simply called Freguesia, meaning parish. The oldest registers kept there begin in the year 1651. In the nineteenth century the state redrew the municipal boundaries, and suddenly the old church site lay in the neighbouring municipality of Montemor-o-Novo. The parish stayed, but its centre was gone. On the eighth of December 1966 it got a new one in Casebres.

What São Martinho gives you

Here you are in the middle of a Way that has led through the knights' land for centuries, from Alcácer north via Cabrela. The churches have moved, and so have the boundaries, but the land has stayed. Perhaps that is the comfort of a quiet evening here: you don't have to be at the centre to arrive. A bed, a café, a greeting from the Junta. Tomorrow you carry on.