Quinta do Hospital

Quinta do Hospital is a walled estate in in the Monção and Melgaço subregion of the Vinhos Verdes Region.

The land on which the estate sits is believed to have been given to the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, or Knights Hospitaller, by the mother of the future king Dom Afonso Henriques—Countess Teresa of León—as part of an invitation to the Knights Hospitaller to settle in the Condado Portucalense.

The Order of the Hospital was one of the leading international institutions of the time, and its establishment brought prestige and served to strengthen the policy of regional autonomy that  was under way. This alliance contributed to the assertion of the Condado’s autonomy and its subsequent independence—leading ultimately to the formation of Portugal.

In the Middle Ages, hospitals were created in the spirit of helping others and were designed to welcome and offer hospitality to travelers and, in particular, pilgrims. This estate became exactly such a source  of hospitality for pilgrims on their journey to Santiago de Compostela.

Quinta do Hospital is located in the parish of Ceivães, in the municipality of Monção, overlooking the national highway at the eastern edge of the village Valinha. The building’s façade bears a 16th-century coat-of-arms of the Baron of the Hospital.