In the village of Seixo Amarelo, parish of Gonçalo, the hours are marked by the sound of a bell dated 1881, located in the bell tower. The routine is ensured by the mechanical clock that triggers a chime on the bell and works in synchrony with the dial placed on the outside of the tower.

In the village, with about 40 inhabitants, the sound of the bell striking the hours is now more of a companion than a regulator of the day's tasks.

José Carrainho, 75 years old, is the guardian of the clock. He has been taking care of the mechanism for over 40 years and now with the help of his 21-year-old grandson, because his health is failing.

"It is necessary to wind it up every eight days so that the clock does not stop", José Carrainho explained to the Lusa agency. The task is carried out every Sunday, turning a crank so that the stone weights that support the mechanism can rise again from the bottom of the tower.

The faithful protector of the clock says that it only broke down once and had to be repaired.

"It cost 150 contos (approximately 750 euros, at current values). It was repaired in Sabugal. It has never broken down again", he reported.

A plaque affixed to the device, with the inscription "A Boa Construtora - Fábrica Nacional de Relógios Monumentais -- Manuel Francisco Cousinha -- Almada Portugal", gives an account of the origin of the clock. José Carrainho emphasizes that there is another similar one in the municipality that is still working in the village of Toito, parish of São Miguel do Jarmelo.

In Aldeia Viçosa, the mechanical clock has already been replaced by an electronic one, but it is to the sound of the bell that the population continues to know the time. The system is installed in the Clock Tower, where the two mechanical clocks that worked for decades remain.

The Parish Council has a project to install a museum space in the Tower, dating from 1861, to exhibit the oldest mechanisms. The president, Luís Prata, told Lusa that the local authority is waiting for funding to be able to implement the idea.

Mário Aguiar took care of the last mechanical clock for almost 20 years. It had to be wound up every five days. It stopped working when a part broke.

In the village, there are still those who regulate themselves by the hours struck by the bell.

"That never fails", says Guilherme Nunes, sitting on a garden bench in the center of the town. Maria Alice Guerra also likes to hear the sound of the bell, because it helps her to orient herself.

In Vale de Estrela, a village on the outskirts of Guarda with about 600 inhabitants, the hours struck by the sound of the "Ave Maria" are also indispensable, from the Tower of the old school, now the headquarters of the Parish Council.

If the clock fails, there is always someone to alert.

"I live next door. If it doesn't strike the hours, I immediately call someone from the Council to warn them that the clock is not striking", reports Dulce Ramos.

There have been those who suggested reducing the sound of the clock at night, but the idea was not well received and the Parish Council decided to keep it running 24 hours a day.

The president of the Council, Ricardo Gonçalves, admits that maintaining the clock is somewhat expensive, because the parts are expensive. "But if the hours don't strike, people complain".

Elsa Santos says that she replaced the windows in her house and now hears the sound of the hours less, but she argues that it is a heritage that must be maintained, because it has accompanied generations.

To keep the analog clock running, it is necessary to wind it up once a week.

The clock, which is located at the headquarters of the Council, transmits the striking of the hours through a sound amplifier to the loudspeakers at the top of the tower. The Council's idea is to restore the interior of the Tower to make it visitable and to recover the existing clock on the façade so that it works in synchrony with the sound of the hours.

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