It is to these poorest farm workers from Estoi that Emiliano da Costa addressed the poem inscribed on the tiles on the wall of this fountain.
Toil(s), always behind the docile cattle,
Attuned to the suns and winter rains,
In this winnowing on laborious threshing floors,
Where have you seen greater alacrity?
Her continual days of fatigue
Give her grain crops and legumes;
Her farmyard of geraniums and roses
When the seventh arrives for rest…
In a half-secret murmur of springs
Conversing then wi’the surrounding hills, with the mounts
That she of love astonishes…
Ingenuous, happy and fresh in the washed air,
With the rose of the sun in her hair
How lovely she is, on Sunday, my village.
Emiliano da Costa (1940)
Chafari
Soon for rental!
We like hospitality too much to let it go completely . Also during the renovation of the Farmhouse, we realised we enjoyed renovationing old houses and bringing back beauty and life to the house. Our passion for houses with history, renovation projects and hospitality made us purchase in 2022 this amazing house in Estoi:
Casa das Bicas de Cima.
It is one of the oldest houses in Estoi. Legend goes that it was a barter-trade by the nobleman who owned the Palacio de Estoi in return for access to water since there was a water source in front of the Casa. Although there is no longer water running out of the spouts of the fountains in the façade, the house used to be a meeting point for locals which came to fill their bottles. Adjacent to the house is also the old “lavadouro” where the women of the village came to wash their clothes.
Chafariz
We are in Estoi, a village covering
an area of 47 km2, with 3.700
inhabitants. It is situated 9 km from
Faro, the capital of the Algarve,
between Campina de Faro and
Cerro do Malhão.
Once this
was a place where animals could
drink because one of the features characterizing Estoi is the abundant
presence of water. Chafariz
(Fountains) can also be found in the Largo da Liberdade square, opposite the church.
We can easily imagine that this
must have been a place filled with
people and animals, as Estoi would
have housed a large community of
mule drivers, who transported figs,
carobs, almonds and cattle from this
region to the rest of the country.
This explains the importance of the
cult of Saint Martin (São Martinho,)
patron saint of the parish church
here.
We collaborated with Estúdio ODS to create a complete renovation plan for the house, carefully respecting its heritage and history. The images shown here reflect a partially completed phase of the renovation, offering a glimpse of the final design vision. After a long wait for the renovation permit, the works are scheduled to begin at the end of 2025. Due to the age and location of the property, an archaeologist will be present during all demolition and excavation phases.
The renovation of Casa das Bicas de Cima is expected to take around 18 months.
During this time, we’ll be sharing updates and behind-the-scenes stories on our blog at farmhouseofthepalms.pt.
We’d love for you to visit regularly and follow our journey.
Thank you, Frank & Véronique
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