Fontoura
Encyclopedia
Fontoura is a parish in the municipality of Valença, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, with 9.13 km² and 737 inhabitants (2001). Density: 80.7 inhabitants / km².
Patron: St. Michael
Population: 735 inhabitants (INE 2001) and 668 voters at 31-12-2003
Employment sectors: agriculture and weaving
Fairs: Last Sunday of each month
Festive traditions: St. Gabriel
Handicrafts: Works in linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
The distance between Fontoura and Valença is about ten kilometers and it occupies an area of 913 hectares of fertile land. It is dominated by the cultivation of corn and vines and there is abundant grassland suitable for raising goats, which is particularly apparent in all markets around the region.
The parish is composed: Rio Torto, Ínsua, Casa Gonçalo, Boriz, Cortinhas, Reguengo, Bárrio, Prado, Valinha, Pereira, Portela, Gontomil, Grove, Maga, Outeiro and Paço.
The inhabitants work growing small domestic crops, weaving, carpentry, mechanical metal work, construction and in the retail trade.
There is a market every other month on the last Sunday, and once a year there is a fair held on the day of Saint Gabriel. Traditional fairs are very rooted in the economic habits of the population with a large attendance of people from throughout the region.
EN 201 and EN 13 and A3 roads are located close to the parish.
The Santuário de Santo Gabriel has a surrounding space suitable for a picnic area.
History
The parish roots go back to pre-Roman times.In Grove appeared archaeological remains (pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
, ashes
Ashes
Ashes may refer to:* The Ashes, the Test cricket series between England and Australia* The Ashes , the rugby league Test series between Great Britain and Australia...
and coals), believing that, by its location and the rounded shape of the hill, there may have been a fortified occupation.
Also in the middle of the ascent of Mount St. Gabriel, the site called Telhões, early signs of this life were found, since a brick pit was found there, filled with wedges of yellow metal, which the people attributed to the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
.
You can also identify an occupation immediately prior to citizenship: the toponym Boriz, Germanic root (results of the evolution of anthroponym Baudiricus) is a good example of the existence of this occupation in 9th and 10th century.
According to tradition, the name Fontoura originated from a source close to the existing Casa Alta whose waters, according to legend, would bring some gold particles. It name was the Fonte d'Ouro.
The place of Reguengo is connected to another legend.
Queen Isabel
Elizabeth of Aragon
Elizabeth of Aragon, also known as Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, T.O.S.F. , was queen consort of Portugal, a tertiary of the Franciscan Order and is venerated as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.-Biography:Elizabeth was a descendant of one of the most powerful families in Europe:...
stayed here on her return from a pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
to Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
.
A famous son of this parish is marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
José Joaquim Champalimaud Nussane Lyra e Castra
José Joaquim Champalimaud
José Joaquim Champalimaud de Nussane de Sousa Lira e Castro de Barbosa was a Portuguese marshal.-History:...
.
His magnificent mansion is located in Bárrio, that justifies a visit, as well as the Chapel of St. José.
Besides these, there are other monuments and sites that deserve mention: the Chapel of St. Gabriel, the Chapel of St. Francisco de Carcavelhe (1647), in ruins, and whose representation is in the church in Fontoura, the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Guia, also in ruins, the St. Gabriel Square, splendid panoramic; the estate of Santo António or the Chapel of Pópulo (sixteenth century), Casa do Paço.
Even more about the history of this parish is written in the book Inventário Colectivo dos registros Paroquiais Vol. 2 - Norte Arquivos Nacionais / Torre do Tombo:
- "In 1258, the list of churches in the territory of Entre Lima e Minho, prepared for the inquiries of Afonso III of PortugalAfonso III of PortugalAfonso III , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , the Bolognian , the fifth King of Portugal and the first to use the title King of Portugal and the Algarve, from 1249...
, San Miguel de Fontoura is cited as one of the churches belonging to the dioceseDioceseA diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of TuiTui, GaliciaTui , in Spanish Tuy, is a town in Galicia , in the province of Pontevedra. It is located on the left bank of the Minho River, facing the Portuguese town of Valença....
. In 1320, the catalog of the same churches, warrant prepared by King Denis of PortugalDenis of PortugalDinis , called the Farmer King , was the sixth King of Portugal and the Algarve. The eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second wife, Beatrice of Castile and grandson of king Alfonso X of Castile , Dinis succeeded his father in 1279.-Biography:As heir to the throne, Infante Dinis was...
, for tax payment, San Miguel de Fontoura was rated at 100 pounds.
- In 1444, John I of PortugalJohn I of PortugalJohn I KG , called the Good or of Happy Memory, more rarely and outside Portugal the Bastard, was the tenth King of Portugal and the Algarve and the first to use the title Lord of Ceuta...
got the popePopeThe Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
to dismember the territory of the diocese of Tui, going to belong to CeutaCeutaCeuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
, where he remained until 1512. In that year, the Archbishop of Braga, Diogo de Sousa, gave Henrique, Bishop of Ceuta, the ecclesiastical district of OlivençaOlivenzaOlivenza or Olivença is a town in the autonomous community of Extremadura, situated on a disputed section of the border between Portugal and Spain...
, receiving in exchange Valença do Minho. In 1513, Pope Leo XPope Leo XPope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
approved the exchange.
- Between 1514 and 1532, the archbishopArchbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Diogo de Sousa held an assessment of the benefits of the church in the diocese of BragaBragaBraga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
. Fontoura yielded 230 réisPortuguese realThe real was the unit of currency of Portugal from around 1430 until 1911. It replaced the dinheiro at the rate of 1 real = 840 dinheiros and was itself replaced by the escudo at a rate of 1 escudo = 1000 réis...
.
- In 1546, the record of the assessment of these churches, within the time of the Archbishop Manuel de Sousa, San Miguel de Fontoura yielded 60,000 réis.
- In the 1580 copy of the censusCensusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of Frei Baltasar Limpo, San Miguel de Fontoura the proceeds were of laymen. According to Américo Costa, the right of proceeds belonged to the heirs of Gabriel Pereira de Castro.
- In the Parish Statistics of 1862 the proceeds were for Vieiras Teles of LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, and Barbosa Aboim of Barcelos.
- In administrative terms, it belonged, in 1839, to the district of MonçãoMonçãoMonção is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 211.3 km² and a total population of 19,738 inhabitants .The municipality is composed of 33 freguesias , and is located in the district of Viana do Castelo....
and, in 1852, to Valença."
(Sources consulted: Dicionário Enciclopédico das Freguesias, Freguesias Autarcas do Século XXI e Inventário Colectivo dos registros Paroquiais Vol. 2 Norte Arquivos Nacionais / Torre do Tombo)