"Among the chestnut trees of this estate gathered the most celebrated outlaw of northern Portugal — a man who robbed the rich to give to the poor, whose legend time has never erased."
Who Was Zé do Telhado?
José Teixeira da Silva was born on 22 June 1818 in the hamlet of Telhado, Castelões de Recesinhos, Penafiel. Of humble origins, he learned the trade of animal handler from his uncle. He became a soldier with the Lisbon Lancers, fighting in the civil war between liberals and absolutists, and was decorated with the Military Order of the Tower and Sword. Expelled from the army and laden with debt, he became the leader of the most famous guerrilla gang of the Marão mountains — the legendary Zé do Telhado.
"Over seven years he swept northern Portugal, raiding wealthy estates and sharing the spoils with the poorest of the region."
The Connection to This Estate
Local tradition in Lixa holds that Quinta de Sanguinhedo was one of the stopping points and hideouts used by Zé do Telhado's gang. The outlaws would gather near the old farmhands' quarters of this estate — among the great chestnut trees that still shade Hotel Monverde today. This episode forms part of the band's clandestine movements through the Entre Douro e Minho region, using rural estates and properties as refuges before and after their raids.
The Friendship that Made Him Immortal
Hunted by the authorities, Zé do Telhado attempted to flee to Brazil but was arrested aboard the ship. In Porto's Court of Appeal prison he met Camilo Castelo Branco, detained for adultery. The writer immortalised him in his Prison Memoirs, transforming the ruffian into a romantic hero — Portugal's Robin Hood. Camilo's lawyer took on his defence and, against all expectations, he escaped the gallows, sentenced instead to exile in Angola.
The chestnut trees that once sheltered the legendary Zé do Telhado still stand here today.
