About the Raised from the Ground Literary Itinerary

The Raised from the Ground Literary Itinerary links the municipalities of Lisbon, Montemor-o-Novo and Évora, by means of a series of tours, comprising three Thematic Tours, which are divided into two Long Tours (LT) and three Short Tours (ST), made up of a total of 26 points of interest associated with the book entitled Raised from the Ground by José Saramago.

The aim of the Raised from the Ground Literary Itinerary is to enable you to find out about the places where the most striking episodes in the novel take place, and provide historical and social context, with testimonies by the women and men who inspired the stories and characters for the plot. The aim is also to enable you to find out about José Saramago’s stay in Lavre, where he spent several months in 1976 in order to collect material in preparation for writing what was to become his first great novel.

The three thematic tours are organised as follows:

Thematic Tour 1

Those Raised from this Ground 1933-74 — Repression in the Alentejo under the Dictatorship

Thematic Tour 2

Resistance: “João Mau-Tempo” and the Struggle of the Alentejo Agricultural Proletariat

Early 20th Century — Resignedness and Banditry

1910s — Culture and Education 

1930s — The Myth of Salazarist Portugal

1940s-1960s — Revolutionary Activism

1970s — Agrarian Reform

Thematic Tour 3 

José Saramago in Monte-Lavre

1970s — People and Places Raised from the Ground