Located on a peninsula that penetrates into the Zêzere river, the village of Dornes displays in broad daylight its 2000 years of History. This region was inhabited by the Romans, the builders of the first security tower for the gold extracted from the river waters. It was exactly on top of these millenary ruins that Gualdim Pais erected the unusual Templar tower of five fronts, in order to defend the land during the Reconquest. Under the protecting shadow of the medieval watchtower, the mother church (Igreja Matriz) was erected in the 12thcentury, although its external appearance shows a 15th-century façade by the hands of D. Gonçalo de Sousa, friend of Henry the Infant that entrusted these lands belonging to the Order of Christ. In the interior the magnificent tile lining is the ideal scenery to contemplate the set of interesting statues of the 16th century.However, in this house of God the honours go to the image of Nossa Senhora do Pranto (Our Weeping Lady) on the main altar. The most diverse legends are associated to this saint and the worship related to her made Dornes an important centre for religious pilgrimage from the Middle Ages on. There are still pilgrimages all over the region, like the Círios (torches) that culminate in the great pilgrimage on the 15th of August. Beyond the historic and monumental interest, Dornes is one of the best-preserved and characteristic villages of the Zêzere margins. Due to the fact of being superbly framed by the landscape that the river and the pine-grove offer; with the streets, paved with pebbles and a medieval planning, debouching into the river and the church; the houses with ancient planning, where one can find testimony of the mighty Order of the Christ, but especially due to its splendid location on that peninsula, almost a boat.