ELVAS

town and concelho (township), Portalegre distrito (district), east-central Portugal, on a hill overlooking a plain. The town originated as the Roman Alpesa and during its long history was a border fortress besieged by the Moors, Spanish, and French. Main fortifications are a Moorish castle on Roman foundations, seven bastions, and (on adjoining hills) the forts of Santa Lzia (1641) and Nossa Senhora da Graa (1763). Elvas was ceded to Portugal by the French at the Convention of Sintra (1808). The town's late Gothic cathedral has three naves, and the Aqueduct of Amoreiras (built 14981622) still brings water to the town; both are national monuments. Elvas is primarily an agricultural processing centre specializing in plums. Pop. (1981) town, 13,507; (1987 est.) concelho, 24,200.