Guiding Architects
Guiding Architects, tour: Évora in the Alentejo (Fig. 1)
Guiding Architects, tour: Évora in the Alentejo (Fig. 2)
Guiding Architects, tour: Évora in the Alentejo (Fig. 3)
Guiding Architects, tour: Évora in the Alentejo (Fig. 4)
Guiding Architects, tour: Évora in the Alentejo (Fig. 5)
Guiding Architects, tour: Évora in the Alentejo (Fig. 6)
Tours Home
Prev Next
Évora in the Alentejo: Cristina Emília Silva (Thumbnail)
Cristina Emília Silva
Lisbon, Porto

Cristina Emília Silva holds a PhD in Architecture from the Faculty of Architecture, University of Porto (2016), and a degree in Architecture from the University of Coimbra (1999). Since 2006, she has co-authored projects at bau.uau arquitectura. A guest assistant professor and researcher at the Faculty of Architecture, she is the author of International Dissemination of Portuguese Architecture 1976–1988 and several articles. She also coordinates APJAR – Associação Pró-Arquitectura João Álvaro Rocha. Her work includes archiving, curating, editing and organising events on architecture. In 2004, she co-founded cultour, where much of this practice took shape.

Évora in the Alentejo: João Paulo Correia (Thumbnail)
João Paulo Correia
Lisbon, Porto

João Paulo Correia, graduated in Industrial Engineering and Management in 1995. His professional work focuses on planning and managing municipal and metropolitan investment projects. He completed an MBA in Business Management at IEP and ESADE in 2001. He has collaborated in multidisciplinary teams developing urban and regional plans and regularly participates in institutional forums related to tourism. In 2004, together with Cristina Emília Silva and Maria da Conceição Melo, he founded the company Cultour.

Évora in the Alentejo: Maria da Conceição Melo (Thumbnail)
Maria da Conceição Melo
Lisbon, Porto

Maria da Conceição Melo graduated in Architecture from the School of Fine Arts, University of Porto, in 1984, studying under Fernando Távora, Álvaro Siza and other Key figures of the Porto School. She holds a master’s degree from the Faculty of Architecture and Engineering of the University of Porto (1995) and works in planning and urban design. She was a visiting professor at the University of Minho’s School of Architecture. She served as President of the Northern Regional Section of the Order of Architects (2020–2023). In 2004 Melo co-founded cultour.

Tours Home
Prev Next

Tour in Lisbon:
Évora in the Alentejo

Alentejo, in southern Portugal, is a region where Mediterranean influences are more evident, with vast plains and gentle hills covered by cereal fields, cork oak forests and olive groves. The architectural journey toward Évora, one of its historic inner cities, unfolds across these open, sparsely populated landscapes.

An architecture visit here reveals how interventions respond to this territorial scale. Among them, Promontorio created a masterplan that integrates tourism houses with olive oil and wine production, drawing on the region’s traditional agricultural estates known as “monte.” Évora, a lime-washed city and World Heritage site since 1986, inspires bold contemporary architecture. Other notable examples include Siza’s Malagueira neighbourhood, composed of 1,200 houses, uses an elevated structure to carry technical infrastructure, recalling the city’s Roman aqueduct, while Inês Lobo and Ventura Trindade transformed an old factory into the Art and Architecture Faculty, preserving its monumental volume.

Visiting Alentejo reveals a series of discoveries that move between landscape and architectural scale.

Photo credits: 1 (large) Gonçalo Villaverde; 2 Leonardo Finotti; 3 and 4 Fernando Guerra FG+SG; 5 Leonardo Finotti; 6 Fernando Guerra FG+SG

– Duration: Full-day tour
– Transport: Private bus
– Services: Experienced local architect as guide
– Languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
– Group size: max. 20pax per guide

Get in touch!
Guiding Architects
Guiding Architects, tour: Évora in the Alentejo (Fig. 7)
Guiding Architects, tour: Évora in the Alentejo (Fig. 8)
Guiding Architects, tour: Évora in the Alentejo (Fig. 9)
Guiding Architects, tour: Évora in the Alentejo (Fig. 10)
Guiding Architects, tour: Évora in the Alentejo (Fig. 11)
Guiding Architects, tour: Évora in the Alentejo (Fig. 12)
1 / 6
  • Network
  • —Destinations
  • —Tours
  • —Events
  • —People
  • About
  • Services
  • Cooperations
  • News
  • Feedback
  • Contact
Out & About
Language:
  • en, 
  • de, 
  • fr, 
  • es
Follow us:
  • Facebook, 
  • Instagram, 
  • LinkedIn, 
  • YouTube
© 2026, Guiding Architects All rights reserved
  • Imprint, 
  • Privacy policy