Historic village in Portugal to celebrate musical heritage

The historic village of Monsanto, in the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova, hosts the eighth edition of Encontros Med on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th—an event celebrating musical heritage rooted in Mediterranean or medieval traditions.

By TPN/Lusa, in News, Music · 10 Oct 2026, 18:03 · 0 Comments

Monsanto once again hosts workshops, public performances, discussions, and a dinner-performance, featuring a program that fosters dialogue between the village’s oral traditions and musical practices from Persia, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Caucasus.

In a statement sent to the Lusa news agency, the Idanha-a-Nova City Council (in the Castelo Branco district) announced that the event’s opening night includes the dinner-performance “Entre a Guria e Monsanto” (“Between Guria and Monsanto”). Inspired by the Georgian supra ritual, the event combines gastronomy, wine, music, and storytelling, blending Georgian and Portuguese traditions.

A highlight of this edition is Sara Fotros, an Iranian percussionist and daf (Persian frame drum) player. She will lead a workshop on her rhythmic and musical language and headline the concert “Cruzamentos Modais: Da Ibéria à Pérsia” (“Modal Crossings: From Iberia to Persia”) on the 24th at 9:00 pm at the Monsanto Parish Church.

The adufe (a traditional square frame drum) also remains central to these gatherings.

Amélia Fonseca, coordinator and founder of the Adufeiras de Monsanto (Monsanto Adufe Players), will present the village’s oral song tradition.

This session will be preceded by a technical class on adufe technique and rhythmic language, led by musician and artisan Rui Silva, designed to equip participants with the basic tools to approach the instrument’s fundamentals.

The program also extends to the Caucasus with the participation of the Ozurgeti Folk Ensemble from Georgia, under the artistic direction of Giorgi Gorgiladze. Hailing from the Guria region, the ensemble is dedicated to preserving and promoting Georgian polyphonic singing, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In addition to leading a public workshop on Georgian polyphony, the group will hold an engagement session with the Monsanto school community.

The Directorate-General for the Arts supports the Encontros Med* and are part of the Geografia Criativa Festival da Paisagem program—a project promoted by the Naturtejo Geopark of the Southern Meseta, organized by the Municipality of Idanha-a-Nova, and supported by the Union of Parishes of Monsanto and Idanha-a-Velha.