The interesting old city of Santarem, far from touristic routes and at just 30 minutes from Lisbon airport and fantastic beaches, is a place to deserve a visit.
Santarem, the old Scalabis, was conquered in 1147 by D. Afonso Henriques to the Moors. In an audacious coup, perpetrated during the night, the city fell in the possession of a scarce army reunited by the King of Portugal.
This very old city has been contacted by Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians. The foundation of the city of Santarem reports to Greco-Roman and Christian mythology, recognizing in the names of Habis and Irene, its mythical origins. The earliest documented traces of human occupation date back to the 8th century BC.
The population of the city would have collaborated with the Roman colonizers, when they arrived to the city in 138 B.C. During this period it became the main commercial warehouse of the middle Tagus and one of the most important administrative centers of the Lusitania province. From the Romans it has received the name of Scalabi Castro. With the invasions of the Alanos and the Vandals happened to be renamed by Santa Irene.
Check the Wikipedia information about Santarem.
Stay at the holiday villa Casa do Lago to visit the city of Santarem.