Cernache de Bonjardim, a town and parish in the Sertã municipality of Central Portugal, has such an intriguing name that I looked it up – it always sounded so French to me….
But no, Cernache comes from the Latin verb cerno, one of its meanings being ‘to see in the distance,’ since the town is on a high point with exceptional long views over the countryside.
The ‘Bon Jardim’ part of the current name was adopted after a monastery was founded there by the Order of the Hospitallers, built on the order of Álvaro Gonçalves Pereira, the Prior of the Order and father of the legendary warrior, Nuno Álvares Pereira (pictured), who was born there in 1360 and, after a short delay, was canonised in 2009, by Pope Benedict.
The original purpose of this Order was to provide aid and medical care to Christian pilgrims making their way to the Holy Land.
The Order soon developed the dual objective of saving lives as well as taking them, under the banner of the Knights of St John and set about acquiring extensive territories in Europe while making significant contributions to the Crusades in Iberia and the Middle East.
Paço do Bonjardim, ‘paço’ is a court or palace, was built in the 14th century by the Order but this building is long gone. A report as far back as 1791 stated that only remains remained but the name stayed on.
Records for the original village do not go back beyond the 12th century but earlier toponyms, names derived from a geographical feature, indicate there was a settlement there well before Portugal became Portugal in 1143.
Between the towns of Cernache de Bonjardim and Figueiró dos Vinhos lies the tiny village of Vale do Rio, perched high above a bend in the river Zêzere, where the development company Rural Properties has just completed negotiations to buy a tired-looking two-bedroom cottage.
The cost of the building plus its full renovation is €40,000 and the fully upgraded home will resell for €80,000-€82,000.
For lettings, this selling price offers a future owner a yield of around 8%. The investor in the particular renovation project will receive a high return on his capital when the cottage is sold. The company aims to provider a ROI of 30% to its investors but should comfortably exceed that figure in Vale do Rio.
Paul Rees
www.rural-properties.com
