The Castle of Lousa, fortified Roman Villa, built in the 1st century b.C. and classified as National Monument, was submerged by the waters of the Alqueva.  

 Castle – Even though according to the memorial stone of its foundation its building occurred during the kingdom of D. Afonso IV, it is not known who effectively ordered its construction, once that some previous documents refer the Castle of Mourão, but probably it was the Hospital Order. 

 The wall has five military doors and eleven square towers from which we can detach the Homage Tower and the Clock Tower topped by a belfry. 

 In the Restoration War time, the defensive structure of the castle was enlarged and reinforced according to the Vauban system, which resulted in the construction of a new bulwark perimeter giving it the shape of an irregular star.  

 With its historical origins lost in time, Mourão had the 1st Foral in 1226. It was the stage for violent episodes between Portuguese and Castilian during the Middle Ages and the Restoration War. 

 In the 18th century it suffered the effects of the earthquake of 1755, which devastated Lisbon and was felt with great intensity in the Alentejo. This, together with the works to rebuild the defensive structure of the Castle according to the Vauban system, started in the 17th century, and the devastation caused by successive wars, led to the redrawing of the urban trace of the town as it is today. To highlight the civil popular buildings in schist and wood partition with the peculiar chimneys with cylindrical leakage which give a very specific profile to the town of Mourão.

The parishes of Granja and Luz are included in the program of the Gestalqueva – Riparian Villages, which intends to value them as to enhance tourism. We ought to mention the Aldeia da Luz is the youngest population in Portugal, once it was originally built in the ambit of the Alqueva enterprise, once the original village was submerged when the gates were closed in 2002.

The region owns a rich gastronomy, very appreciated by the visitors, to which great quality wines are allied. The evidence for that is the fact that the Agricultural Cooperative of Granja has won the Greatest Wine in the World trophy in the 80’s.