History

The current territory of Vila Verde was established on October 24, 1855, with the extinction of other ancient medieval fiefs or municipalities: Aboim da Nóbrega, Cervães, Larim, Penela, Pico de Regalados, Prado, Valdreu and Vila Chã.

The territory of Vila Verde has always provided favorable conditions for the settlement of human communities since the most remote prehistoric times. In fact, on the central mountainous plateaus — Monte do Borrelho — there are extensive plains where remains from the megalithic period are abundant, especially funerary monuments: mamoas and antas (dolmens). Occupying strategically privileged locations in a region with high agricultural potential due to the abundance of watercourses, they also reveal important evidence of occupation from the Protohistoric to the Medieval period (S. Julião, Barbudo, Santa Helena, Santo Ilus), in numerous medium-altitude hills and hilltops scattered around the municipality. These “ancient places” — castros, castles or citânias, archaeological sites well known by local populations — correspond to a specific form of settlement in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula during the Iron Age.

Many of these settlements survived the arrival of the Romans, and in several of them there are remains showing the acculturation of indigenous populations, some (S. Julião and Barbudo) remaining occupied until the medieval period. Others were abandoned, with their inhabitants integrated into the socioeconomic structure of the Roman world. In 173 BC, Roman legions reached for the first time the unknown territories of northwestern Hispania. However, it would take another century to pacify the fierce tribes inhabiting these lands. In Vila Verde, Roman presence is evidenced both in hillforts and lowlands and is associated with one of the most significant aspects of Romanization: the construction of bridges and roads. The foundations of the Old Bridge of Goães and Caldelas, traces of the Braga–Tuy road (the 4th of the Itinerarium Antonini) and the Roman milestones of Prado are the most important witnesses of the Roman presence in these areas.

In the 5th century AD, barbarian peoples from Central Europe put an end to Roman imperial rule in the West, marking the beginning of a new period in European history: the Middle Ages. The remains from this era reflect dominant historical features: a general state of warfare and insecurity, the firm establishment of Christianity and the birth of European nations. In Vila Verde, the earliest evidence from this period — reflecting a decline in material and cultural life — appears mainly in the form of remains of forts or fortified settlements. Some are examples of medieval occupation — the rocky Castle of Aboim da Nóbrega, the watchtower of Borrelho in Dossãos, the fortified site of S. Miguel de Prado — others are likely adaptations of earlier castros or castles — Castle of Barbudo, Castle of Monte dos Francos in Rio Mau, Côto dos Mouros in Dossãos, and Castle of Vairão in Gomide. From the later medieval period, when new cultural elements emerged alongside a gradual socioeconomic opening, there are numerous monument remains, including bridges, roads, towers, and Romanesque-style churches.

The 18th century, marked by the apparent wealth derived from Brazilian gold, is represented in Vila Verde through civil and religious architecture, sometimes of undefined style, reflecting ostentation and the desire for social ascent typical of that era. Significant examples of Baroque architecture include the Solar de Carcavelos, Casa da Madalena, Solar de Febros, Casa de Serrazim, and Solar do Fundão. The sculptural group and Church of Soutelo, the Chapel of S. Miguel-o-Anjo (Rio Mau), and the Chapel of S. Sebastião (Sande) are further examples of the rich artistic production of this period. Finally, from the 19th century, more than fifty sites or rural elements of anthropological and ethnographic interest are known in this municipality — archaic rural complexes, old pathways, mountain settlements, grain granaries, mills, watermills, threshing floors, ancient forms of land division and even a “wolf pit” in Gondomar. From Bezeguimbra to Aboim, from Mixões da Serra to Casais de Vide, stretches an entire tradition, a culture, a way of life that deserves study and a visit.

The current territory of Vila Verde was established on October 24, 1855, when the former municipalities were extinguished and unified. Pico de Regalados was originally a fief donated by King Afonso Henriques to the Archbishop of Braga, D. Paio Mendes. It was considered one of the oldest and most aristocratic in the country. King Manuel I granted it a charter on November 13, 1513. Vila Chã and Larim received the first charters from King Afonso III. Penal (also known as Penela, Portela de Penal, or Portela das Cabras) received its charter from King Manuel I on October 6, 1514. Prado received its charter from King Afonso III in 1260, later confirmed by King Manuel I in 1510. At that time, much of the current municipal territory was in the possession of the powerful family of Countess Mumadona and her husband, Count Hermenegildo Gonçalves. During the 11th century, the area of the present municipality became a kind of estate for the high nobility of Portugal, direct descendants of the aforementioned countess. Until the 17th century, the parish of Vila Verde did not differ from the others in the same municipality. However, in the early 18th century, it seems to have already been the seat of the Vila Chã municipality, with an important monthly fair. From then on, it continued to grow steadily, until the administrative reforms of 1855 extinguished the old municipalities and unified them under the name Vila Verde.

Texts by Henrique Regalo