For more than 500 years the people of Redondo have dug their hands into the terra, digging up clay to make earthenware pottery with the heart and soul of the Alentejo.
Both wine and pottery production flourished in Redondo in the 19th century, and it continues to be the Alentejo town’s most important artisan craft. But while there were once 40 studios in Redondo, now you’ll find just six.
Read on to discover Redondo’s pottery heritage, local artisans, things to do in Redondo, and a favourite restaurant and hotel.
Museu do Barro (Pottery Museum)
Learn more about the town’s ceramic evolution at the Museu do Barro, a small pottery museum that details production from prehistoric times to today. The free museum is well worth a look, and you’ll find it tucked behind a church, the Igreja e Convento de Santo António.
Read next… Bottomless wine and secret cellars: Redondo’s tasca and talha trail
Olaria Xico Tarefa
Master Xico Tarefa was the first in his family to learn pottery, picking up the trade as an apprentice for master potter Ezequiel Campainhas at age 13. I hear it usually takes around eight years to reach master status but Xico perfected his technique by 17 and now in his 70s he’s one of Redondo’s greats.
In 2000 he opened his modest studio, where he shapes the clay and paints each piece with his particular style and designs featuring traditional themes of nature and rural life. He’s a friendly guy who loves a chat. One question from us revealed his life story along with that of Redondo (in Portuguese) so don’t be afraid to say hi. There’s a great interview with him here (in Portuguese).
📍 Address: R. João Anastácio da Rosa 4, 7170-062 Redondo
Olaria Poço Velho
Olaria Poço Velho is an incredible time warp. We walked up to the dark warehouse where three tiny dogs came running at us. Senhor Baeta should have been closed for lunch but kindly let us into view the giant warehouse where everything is done as it was in the 20th century.
He learnt the art from his father, starting at age 12, and today it’s just him. Unlike most potters I’ve encountered in Portugal, this artisan still collects clay from local pits himself and processes it the traditional way – removing debris to create clean clay, which he then kneads, moulds, dries and fires in the only wood-fired oven still operating in the village.
📍 Address: Sítio do Poço Velho, 7170-015 Redondo
Olaria Pirraça
Back in 1930 master potter Ezequiel Campainhas started this family-run workshop in Redondo. Today his son Manuel Pirraça continues the legacy, learning from his father after he left school at 11. We only saw the shop of Olaria Pirraça in a quick pitstop on the way to lunch but I instantly recognised the maximalistic, rich floral and rural designs adorning the terracotta plates, jugs and homewares. We left with a little espresso cup and saucer.
📍 Address: R. Conde Redondo 85, 7170-052 Redondo
Other pottery workshops to visit in Redondo
We didn’t have time to go everywhere, but there are three more ceramic studios that you can visit in Redondo.
- Olaria Barru – Really beautiful, contemporary pottery crafted by a local master potter with modern colours and designs. You can also see the pieces at a small creative space in Sintra that Barru shares with my favourite tile-painting workshop.
- Olaria Jeremias – Traditional workshop with two masters and a painter. Besides homewares, this pottery makes small-order bricks and tiles too.
- Martelo Júnior Artesanato – Look for the store in the heart of the village.
Read next… Portuguese artisans: 10 traditional crafts from the Alentejo
Bonus: Artisans who make Alentejo chairs
The other artisanal craft still alive in Redondo is Alentejo chairs and furniture. This popular craft popped up in the 19th century, and while there used to be 10 or more people making chairs, now there are just a couple who specialise in Alentejo furniture.
This style of furniture is often quite simple in build. The chairs have woven seats while the rest of the piece is painted in oils with floral motifs such as roses, lilies and other flowers.
- José M. Rosado Vicente – Near to Olaria Xico Tarefa there’s a man making chairs with woven reed seats (R. Dr. José Luís Tavares, 21). The door will likely be open so you can see the process in action.
- Artesanato Zezinha – Huge range of traditional hand-painted furniture, from chairs and tables to tea trays and small boxes.
- Artesanato Joaquim Boavida – His workshop is in the industrial zone, but you might be more likely to catch him at fairs.
Where to eat in Redondo: Celeiro do Pinto
Alentejo food is maybe my favourite regional cuisine in Portugal. Perhaps it’s thanks to the variety of dishes, or the occasional inclusion of vegetables – but probably it comes down to two things: black pork and sericaia. I’m not a big pork eater, but porco preto is something special. I describe it as like wagyu pork, marbled with layers of fat that render beautifully on a charcoal grill. It’s served at Redondo’s Celeiro do Pinto with rice and hand-cut chips.
This restaurant is a gem with lovely service and one of the best sericaias I’ve ever had. It’s my all-time favourite Portuguese cake, a sort of light sponge cake cooked in a wide terracotta pan, dusted with a thick layer of cinnamon and served with a little green plum and its preserving sugar syrup.
Other things to do in Redondo
Redondo has a beautiful and petite castle, with a single street, that’s worth exploring. Within you’ll find the town’s Enoteca, a cultural space of sorts dedicated to the education of local wines (and tasting).
Read next…. Bottomless wine and secret cellars: Redondo’s tasca and talha trail
Next time I’m in this area of the Alentejo I’ll organise an experience with Corktrekking, a company that offers off-road Jeep safaris and guided hikes and wine tastings in a special fifth-generation montado – a cork oak forest. Portugal is the world’s largest producer of cork, and this seems like one of the top-rated and best ways to learn more about the trees and their uses.
Where to stay in Redondo
Hotel Convento de São Paulo
I stayed at this beautifully preserved 12th-century convent that’s now a one-of-a-kind hotel – and it’s easily one of the most memorable places I’ve slept in Portugal. This independently run property holds the largest private azulejo collection in the country, with over 54,000 tiles lining its staircases and cloisters, many dating back to the 1700s.
Better yet, the 4-star hotel is set within 750 hectares of wild Alentejo landscape. It has two pools (including an adults-only option), hiking trails, and G&Ts served straight to your sunbed. You’ll eat breakfast in the old monk’s dining hall, and can spend the rest of the day playing padel or tennis, cycling the grounds, or relaxing over dinner at the on-site restaurant. It’s just 10 minutes from Redondo.
➡️ Check availability for Hotel Convento de São Paulo
Other places to stay in Redondo town
- TurisAlentejo – modern one-bedroom apartments with traditional Alentejo furniture
- Rota VMF – contemporary rooms or a two-bed townhouse.
That’s my guide to Redondo with a focus on the Alentejo town’s ceramic workshops. Any questions? Leave me a comment….
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