São Pedro da Afurada
Encyclopedia
São Pedro da Afurada is a locality in the city of Vila Nova de Gaia
in Portugal
. It has 3,442 inhabitants and a population density of 3,442 people per square kilometer (as of 2001).
It is an urban parish(freguesia) in the city of Gaia.
Afurada is located at the end of the Douro
river, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is a traditional fishing village
and was created as such. Its patron saint is Saint Peter
, hence the name São Pedro, the equivalent in Portuguese.
Afurada's people seem to be very devoted to St. Peter and every year there is a religious holiday in St. Peter's name (on 29 June), where people make processions, pray, and party throughout the night. It is customary for people to eat sardines in that week, baked with the typical Broa de Avintes, a type of corn bread made in the nearby village of Avintes. There is plenty of fireworks too.
During religious processions people carry the images of saints, sometimes in real size, for other people to worship and make offerings to the saints. People usually dress in their traditional fishermen and fisherwomen clothes to pay respect for their patron saint, Peter. Other popular saints include Our Lady the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Carmo, and St. Michael the Archangel, images of which are placed at the centre of the village. However, St. Peter's image is central at this place, the former location of a church in his name that was destroyed in a flood.
Vila Nova de Gaia
Vila Nova de Gaia, or simply Gaia is a city in Vila Nova de Gaia Municipality, Portugal. It is located in the Porto District, south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper has a population of 178,255 and the municipality contains 24 parishes with a total...
in 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...
. It has 3,442 inhabitants and a population density of 3,442 people per square kilometer (as of 2001).
It is an urban parish(freguesia) in the city of Gaia.
Afurada is located at the end of the Douro
Douro
The Douro or Duero is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto...
river, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is a traditional fishing village
Traditional fishing village
A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres...
and was created as such. Its patron saint is Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
, hence the name São Pedro, the equivalent in Portuguese.
Afurada's people seem to be very devoted to St. Peter and every year there is a religious holiday in St. Peter's name (on 29 June), where people make processions, pray, and party throughout the night. It is customary for people to eat sardines in that week, baked with the typical Broa de Avintes, a type of corn bread made in the nearby village of Avintes. There is plenty of fireworks too.
During religious processions people carry the images of saints, sometimes in real size, for other people to worship and make offerings to the saints. People usually dress in their traditional fishermen and fisherwomen clothes to pay respect for their patron saint, Peter. Other popular saints include Our Lady the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Carmo, and St. Michael the Archangel, images of which are placed at the centre of the village. However, St. Peter's image is central at this place, the former location of a church in his name that was destroyed in a flood.