Penalva de Alva

Penalva de Alva

 By: Diana Tavares and Rita Dias

Penalva de Alva is a very old settlement. It is not known when or by whom it was founded. Penalva de Alva is one of the 21 parishes of the county of Oliveira do Hospital. This parish consists of places like: Caldas de S. Paulo, Carizeu, Carvalha, Formarigo, Merujais, Moita, Quintais de S.Pedro and St. António do Alva.

It is located not very far from Serra da Estrela (our highest mountain), in the beautiful borders of River Alva and it is surrounded by a lovely green landscape.

It is an essentially rural area where most people work in handicraft, farming and cattle raising.

Penalva de Alva is rich in legends and traditions which improve tourism and leisure activities such as fairs, festivals and gastronomy.

There is a Recreation Society and a Social-Cultural Center which improve the life quality of the inhabitants.

Foreign people, mainly British and Belgian, moved from their countries and settled down in Penalva de Alva because of the life quality they can find here, as we can see from the following testimony of a teenage boy:

Pete Stonehouse, 17 years old (Birmingham- UK)

“Penalva de Alva is a fantastic place. It is very green and beautiful. In the summer we can swim in the river and hang out with our friends. The people from Penalva are very friendly and they like to help each other and make barbecues all the time. They also love beer, just like us! The girls from Penalva are the most beautiful ones! ;)”