The history of Portalegre runs from a medieval frontier town fortified by King Dinis to a bishop's city of the 16th century, a centre of the wool and cork industries, and the home of the Portalegre tapestry. The city stands on a slope of the Serra de São Mamede, near the Spanish border.

This page lists the main dates in the history of Portalegre and the people linked to the city.

Timeline of Portalegre

13th century: King Dinis fortifies the town and builds its castle, as a defence of the border with Castile.
1550: the Diocese of Portalegre is created, and on 23 May King João III raises the town to the status of a city.
1556: work begins on Portalegre Cathedral.
16th to 18th centuries: the clergy, the nobility and the religious orders build churches, convents and manor houses, which give the historic centre its character.
18th century: under the Marquis of Pombal, a royal wool factory is founded in Portalegre.
19th century: a cork factory, later known as the Robinson factory, becomes one of the main industries of the city.
1946: Guy Fino and Manuel Celestino Peixeiro found the tapestry manufacture, whose work is shown in the Portalegre Tapestry Museum.
14 April 1989: the Serra de São Mamede Natural Park is created.
July 2001: the Tapestry Museum opens.

People linked to Portalegre

King Dinis: the king who fortified the town in the 13th century.
King João III: the king who raised Portalegre to a city in 1550.
José Régio: the writer who lived and taught in Portalegre, whose house is the José Régio House Museum.
Manuel do Carmo Peixeiro and Guy Fino: the inventor of the Portalegre stitch and the founder of the tapestry manufacture.