The Convento São Francisco de Mértola is an artist-in-residence and guest accommodation housed in a historic 400-year-old Franciscan monastery. It is a fantastically well sited retreat, overlooking the Oeiras and Guadiana rivers on the outskirts of Mértola, in the southern province Alentejo, Portugal. The building still has archeological remains from its Roman and Moorish occupants.
The word convento derives from the Latin convenire, to gather, and here it is a gathering of life, art and nature. This is what the founders had in mind, a place where the senses are stimulated, meditation is possible and creativity vitalized. An achievement that took over 30 years of dedicated, ongoing work.
Geraldine Zwanikken 