Portalegre

Portalegre, an episcopal city, capital of the district of Portalegre, Portugal; 8 m. N. of Portalegre station, on the Lisbon-Badajoz-Madrid railway. Pop. (1900), 11,8 20. Portalegre is the Roman Amaea or Ammaia, and numerous Roman and prehistoric remains have been discovered in the neighbourhood. The principal buildings are the cathedral, the ruined Moorish citadel and two more modern forts. The administrative district of Portalegre, in which the rearing of swine, the production of grain, wine and oil, and the manufacture of woollen and cotton goods and corks are the principal industries, coincides with the northern part of the ancient province of Alemtejo. Pop. (1900), 124,443; area, 2405 sq. m.