The border between Portugal and neighbouring Spain (then the kingdom of Castilla-León), the oldest border in Europe, was fixed definitively in 1297 by the Treaty of Alcanizes. To defend his country's territory, Dinis (reigned between 1279-1325), the Portuguese king at the time, ordered the erection of a group of castles along the land border, namely in Montalegre, one of the Portuguese villages located at the highest altitude (884 meters). The castle's keep, shown in the image in the lower left corner, is 27 meters high and constitutes a privileged place for observing the town's surroundings.

When visiting Montalegre Castle a few weeks ago, on a snowy and cold day, I marvelled at this large and magnificent deciduous tree, completely bare of leaves but with remnants of snow on the trunk. The tree, alive but at rest, in the foreground, with the ephemeral snow (which will melt in a few hours), seems to dialogue with the past seven centuries, crystallized in the castle's keep. Henceforth, life will continue its path in the great tree, and history will remain embedded in the castle.