Mantas Alentejanas

The manta alentejana is a heavy wool blanket in broad stripes - traditionally natural browns, greys and creams from undyed fleece, with reds and blues added - woven on wooden handlooms from local sheep's wool, used by shepherds as cloak and bedding on the plain where nights are cold even after hot days. Reguengos de Monsaraz was the centre of the trade, with a factory employing many hands into the twentieth century. It closed in the 1970s as the market collapsed. Mizette Nielsen, a Danish weaver who had settled in the town, took over the machinery and restarted production in the surviving building, keeping the handlooms and the old patterns while introducing new colours, and the workshop has continued since her death, employing weavers locally. Visitors can watch the looms working, and pieces are sold directly at prices that reflect the days of work involved.

Highlights

• The handlooms - wooden looms still worked by hand in the surviving building.
• The striped blankets - broad bands in undyed browns and creams with added colour.
• The restart - a factory closed in the 1970s and revived by a Danish weaver.
• The local wool - fleece from Alentejo sheep worked into heavy cloth.

When to go

Year-round. One hour. Weekdays during working hours to see the looms running; the workshop closes at weekends and over lunch.

What to expect

Blankets are expensive because each takes days on a handloom. The workshop is a working business, not a museum. Weaving is only visible when someone is at the loom. Reguengos is a small town with limited other draws.

Nearby

Monsaraz and the Alqueva lake are east; São Pedro do Corval's potteries are close.