Herdade Aldeia de Cima originated in 1758, but the cultural and traditional experience it inherits has much more ancient origins. The past of Herdade da Aldeia de Cima echoes the voices of Phoenicians, Visigoths, Romans, and above all, Arabs who arrived in the 8th century and dominated the region for 500 years, influencing Alentejo culture to this day. Some scholars describe the Alentejo people as having the spirit of a Roman in the body of an Arab.

Working in favor of nature and not against it is the daily motto of Luisa and Francisco, who see Herdade Aldeia de Cima as a life project, experiencing the authenticity of this place and the community spirit of the village located in the Ibero-Mediterranean ecological area of ​​Zona Ossa-Morena.

Encompassing a vast expanse of cork and holm oak forests, including 1750 hectares in the Serra do Mendro mountain range, this area has always seen a typically Mediterranean land use in schist soils that appear poor but are rich in biodiversity.

This anthropogenic agro-silvo-pastoral system of the montado (cork oak woodland) relies on the mixed presence of two oak species – the cork oak (Quercus suber) and the holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia) – providing a variety of food and wildlife habitats, fundamental for soil conservation, regulation of the water cycle, reduction of carbon emissions and conservation of biodiversity.

We still practice sustainable agroforestry management today, which provides medium-term profits in the long term.