Coexistence of landscaping techniques

Dominated by viticulture, the Douro landscape holds within it the layers of several eras. The ‘mortórios’, abandoned terraces in the post-phylloxera era, that we can see in the forefront, have also been replanted with olive trees. They coexist with several landscaping techniques and autochthonous tree species, like the cork-oak. The walls around the vineyards and other walled structures that serve to store tools or house beehives (the hive walls), show us that territory and heritage in this region are inseparably binominal. In some cases, orange trees have been planted, one of the thorny fruits grown in the Douro. The listing of the Alto Douro Wine Region (UNESCO, 2001) focuses precisely on this diversity and authenticity, regarded as a cultural, evolving and living landscape.