Portugal’s Gate to Heaven

Porto Covo is a small coastal village, nestled in Portugal’s Alentejo region. As well as its beautiful, whitewashed houses, little sandy coves and dramatic cliffs, it also has a gate to heaven (and as Michael Cane would probably say, not a lot of people know that). The portas do ceu, as it is known in Portuguese, is a small wooden gate set into the coastal landscape. You can reach it by a little stone path, but once through it you will quickly find it goes nowhere. That’s why it is called the gate of heaven because it is the only possible place that the path (and gate) can possibly lead. Of course, the combination of gate, flowers and the sweeping horizon above give it that particular “gateway to heaven” appearance. It could just as easily be seen as simply a piece of art. And since it has no call to be here, the art lies in the fact that it is here. Image