Magical Thinking

The world is full of wonders and places waiting to be discovered. Beauty can be found in unexpected places. But some places are more magical than others. Dá Licençia, located in the upper Alentejo region in Portugal, is one of them. Formerly an old, white-washed farm, hidden among 120 hectares of olive groves and marble rocks but now transformed into a carefully curated hotel, it is approximately 90 minutes from Lisbon by car.

The atmosphere of Dá Licençia is slightly surreal; the sleek elegance of the buildings juxtaposed with the natural simplicity of the Portuguese landscape. The perfectly circular pool is surrounded by lush citrus trees.

Every evening, the sun sets over the gentle slopes that surround the hotel, while the distant sound of grazing sheep underscores the fact that this hotel is completely tucked away from the outside world.

Getting here is not exactly easy, as the country roads around the hotel are both narrow and uneven, while sheep roam freely. Drive slowly!

Already before checking in, you notice the careful attention to detail, as the walk from the parking space to the reception smells richly of thyme, the spice covering the small hill between the parking and the hotel.

As there are only nine units (and parents are advised to not bring their youngest children), the hotel will never feel crowded. Two units have small pools of their own.

The soft and welcoming attitude is even reflected in the name, which roughly translates to “with your permission” and was originally a phrase used by horse-riders when they entered someone else’s land.

The interiors are worth a special mention. Before moving to Portugal to open a hotel, one of the owners ran a gallery in Paris, where he sold selected pieces of art, furniture and craft. He became increasingly interested in the anthroposophical ideas of Rudolf Steiner and the application of this philosophy in furniture and interiors. He began collecting anthroposophical furniture and items from Northern Europe, in particular Finland and Norway.

Part of this collection has been given its own space in the adjoining gallery a few hundred metres below the hotel, available for hotel guests to visit for guided tours.

In most of the rooms and suites, there are plenty of examples of excellent Nordic design. In addition, the layout of the bathrooms has been given particular attention, and the bathroom design is as functional as it is beautiful.

Staying at Dá Licençia may be a feast for your eyes, calming for your soul and comfortable for your body, but it also includes a delicious breakfast, served in the main building, made from local ingredients, and adhering to local customs.

If you do not want to spend your days lounging by the pool, there are plenty of things to do and places to visit in the surrounding area, and the staff is happy to help with the arrangements. The owners have considered all senses when planning their hotel, making a stay here a complete experience.

Museu Berardo Estremoz

Perhaps more than anything, Portugal is synonymous with tiles, in particular those with patterns of white and blue. The Museu Berardo Estremoz, a joint collaboration between Berardo Collection and the Municipality of Estremoz not far from Dá Licençia, is not only the largest, but also the most important, private collection of tiles in Portugal. Eztremoz itself is known for its picturesque white buildings and narrow alleys, dominated by a 13th century marble keep, so don’t forget taking a walk around town before heading back.

The collection includes in situ-tile sets, such as the Bacalhôa Palace and Estate and the Tocha Palace (in which the museum is housed), as well as more than 4,500 examples dating from the 13th to the 21st century, representing a plethora of styles, from late-Baroque to Renaissance.

In one of the first rooms on the bottom floor, there are several remarkable sets of Spanish tiles, demonstrating the development of the cuerda seca, arista and majolica techniques. In this section, the tiled ceiling also demonstrates the cultural importance of patterns and the use of ceramic tiles in Spanish interiors throughout the centuries.

One of the most significant parts of the museum is the majestic staircase. On the first floor, facing the staircase, is the finest room of the museum. Historically, it has been called the “Sala das Batalhas” (Room of the battles) and includes several depictions of Portuguese battle victories.

Up until the end of the first half of the 18th century, almost all tile motifs were religious. Later, the motifs would become more varied and include profane matters, sometimes even satirical subjects. In the final decade of the 17th century, the Portuguese tiles turned towards the blue colour tones that it today is so well-known for.

The museum has several tile-sets from this period on display. Beginning in the early 18th century, the painters ceased being viewed as anonymous craftsmen and became to be lauded as talented artists. This was the beginning of the Portuguese golden era of tiles – the Time of the Masters.

The major change in Portuguese aesthetic preferences coincides with the international trend of Rococo, with many prominent examples in the collection. The museum also has examples of newer styles, such as the Revivalist and Nationalist expressions of the 19th and 29th centuries.

Capela dos Ossos

“What you are now, we once were. What we are now, you will become.” This inscription ca be read inside the ancient church Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini in Rome. Here, the bones and mummies of over 4,000 Cauchin friars who passed away between 1528 and 1870, are arranged along the walls of various chapels. The purpose is to remind the visitors that life is ephemeral, and death eternal.

Time is a peculiar phenomenon. As children, we often experience that the world begins and ends with ourselves. It is difficult to fathom that our parents once were our age, or that we will one day be adults. To imagine that everything already existed before we were born, and that it will continue existing after we are gone. This is what the church inscription wants to remind us of – our fleeting existence in the fabric of human existence, that we are only one singular thread among billions, though of course all interwoven, and together they constitute the vastness of human experience.

About an hour from Dá Licençia, a chapel has been built using skulls and bones. Capela dos Ossos was built in the 17th century, at the initiative of three Franciscan monks, who wanted to create an experience for the local population to reflect on the transience of life, through a clear allegory of death. In total, the chapel includes more than 5,000 bones and skulls that adorn its walls, ceilings and columns.

Interestingly, and even though this Èvora-based chapel is the best known, the regions of Algave and Alentejo cointain five more “bone chapels”, erected for similar reasons. This kind of religious structure has existed for centuries in Europe, largely made possible because cemeteries in the past were very small, and so remains would be exhumed years after burial, to make room for others in the same place.

This practical reason made it possible to communicate in a more symbolic way, to emphasize to the church visitors that life in this material dimension is limited, but in the spiritual realm and in the afterlife, existence is eternal.

In much of modern society, death has become detached from everyday life. Many find it difficult to discuss serious illness, death and grief, as these events and experiences are rarely part of popular culture or integrated in everyday discussions. Perhaps this why these churches fill contemporary visitors with amazement.

A silence surrounds the topic of death and so we tend to avoid it. But this silence has created a void in our minds. Could this be why more and more people today define themselves as spiritual, and why there is a revival in the practice of symbolically charged rituals?

There is so much more to life than what meets the eye, and to be reminded of the conditions and prerequisites of our existence is to consider the wonder that is not only life, but also what comes after. In this way, we can truly learn to live in the now, and to appreciate each and every day that we are still alive.