The seven winning villages have been announced in the \u20187 Wonders of Portugal \u2013 Villages\u2019 project, which will return next year with a new theme.<\/p>\n
This year the \u2018Wonders of Portugal\u2019 campaign, which aims to acknowledge, showcase and promote Portugal\u2019s national identity, was dedicated to Portugal\u2019s villages, and divided into seven categories: Riverside, Seaside, Rural, Remote, Authentic, Monument and Protected Areas.
\nThe frontrunners were whittled down to two finalists in each category, and the overall winners announced this week in a ceremony held in Pi\u00f3d\u00e3o, in Arganil, central Portugal.
\n\u201cThe outcome was tremendous. We have managed to involve the entire country in an extraordinary way, and showcase hidden heritage\u201d, Lu\u00eds Segad\u00e3es, president of the \u2018Seven Wonders\u2019 project, told newspaper Di\u00e1rio de Not\u00edcias.
\nA total of 49 villages were chosen to take part in the competition, seven in each of the seven categories, which were then narrowed down to two finalists before the winners were chosen through public vote.
\nThe 14 finalists were up for voting for a week, not only in Portugal but also in several European countries.
\nThe seven most voted villages now form part of the \u2018Seven Wonders\u2019 route, which already includes historic and natural heritage, gastronomy and beaches.
\nThe winners were: Dornes (central Portugal) in the Riverside Villages category; Sistelo (northern Portugal, Rural Villages), Faj\u00e3 dos Cubres (S\u00e3o Jorge Island, Azores, Seaside Villages), Pi\u00f3d\u00e3o (central Portugal, Remote Villages), Castelo Rodrigo (northern Portugal, Authentic Villages), Monsaraz (Alentejo, Monument Villages), and Rio de Onor (northern Portugal, Villages in a Protected Area).
\n\u201cThere was an astounding participation which resulted in one of the best votes ever. It is gratifying to see people\u2019s interest in these areas, where there is significant depopulation. The mission was to find a list of must-see places that we could boast of worldwide\u201d, Lu\u00eds Segad\u00e3es stressed.
\nAll 49 participants will also form part of a book titled \u2018The Journey that No One has Made Yet\u2019, which will also soon be released in English.
\n\u201cIt shows a very interesting mosaic of cultures between the different regions. They make great content for any tourist\u201d, the organiser stressed.
\nMore ideas are also being thought up for future \u2018Seven Wonders\u2019 themes.
\nLu\u00eds Segad\u00e3es explained: \u201cWe will continue, as a means of getting people throughout the country and beyond involved, to promote these great successes of national identity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The seven winning villages have been announced in the \u20187 Wonders of Portugal \u2013 Villages\u2019 project, which will return next year with a new theme. This year the \u2018Wonders of Portugal\u2019 campaign, which aims to acknowledge, showcase and promote Portugal\u2019s national identity, was dedicated to Portugal\u2019s villages, and divided into seven categories: Riverside, Seaside, Rural, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[904,3520],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/PORTUGUESE-POST-PORTUGAL-OST-WONDROUS.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}