The Alentejo Region stretches from the Tagus River at Lisbon, south to the Algarve. Its terracotta earth is covered in wheat fields. Bordered by rows of olive trees marching up and down the rolling hills like Roman centurions. Here and there white washed villages and towns appear, crowned by castles. The ancients left their megaliths, the Romans their aqueducts, the Portuguese a wealth of architecture from Gothic to Baroque. Today some of the old arts and crafts are still practiced in this region; here too cooking and winemaking reflect a rich culinary tradition. In the spring, the Alentejo is carpeted in wildflowers; in the summer, wheat, oats, and sunflowers blanket the fields; in the autumn, grapes and olives ripen.