PONTE DE LIMA
N 41.76750; W 8.58295
It is the seat of a municipality with 320.25 km² of area and 42 286 inhabitants (2011), subdivided into 39 parishes, whose Mayor is Victor Mendes. The municipality is limited to the north by the municipality of Paredes de Coura, to the east by Arcos de Valdevez and Ponte da Barca, to the southeast by Vila Verde, to the south by Barcelos, to the west by Viana do Castelo and Caminha and to the northwest by Vila Nova de Brewer.
The bridge, which gave its name to this noble land, has always acquired the importance of great significance throughout the Alto Minho, given that it is the only safe passage of the Lima River, in all its extension, until the end of the Middle Ages. The primitive was built by the Romans, of which there is still a significant section on the right bank of Lima, the medieval being a notable landmark of architecture, with very few examples that compare it in the pride, beauty, and balance of the whole. Mandatory reference in itineraries, guides and maps, many of them old, which describe the passage through it of thousands of pilgrims who demanded Santiago de Compostela and who still transpose it today with the same purpose.
From the 18th century onwards, urban expansion emerged and with it the beginning of the destruction of the wall that embraced the village. The opulence of the stately homes that the nobility of the time began to disseminate began to prosper throughout the municipality of Ponte de Lima. Throughout the ages, Ponte de Lima has thus added to its natural beauty magnificent Gothic, mannerist, baroque, neoclassical and nineteenth-century facades, significantly increasing the historical, cultural, and architectural value of this unique corner in all of Portugal.
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ESTORÃOS
41° 47' 16" N; 8° 39' 01" W
The Parish of Estorãos is about 7 km from Ponte de Lima and spreads over about 1710 ha. Estorãos, which is the parish with the largest extension in the municipality of Ponte de Lima, has its boundaries established by the following parishes: To the North, the Parish of Cabração. To the south, the Parish of Arcos. To the east, the Parish of Moreira do Lima and, although tangentially, it also borders the parish of Sá. To the West with the Parish of Arga de Cima belonging to the Municipality of Caminha and also with Montaria belonging to the Municipality of Viana do Castelo.
The Parish of Estorãos is one of the most beautiful, not only in the municipality of Ponte de Lima, but also in the entire Minho region, given the magnificent landscapes that can be enjoyed in its lands and its enchanting water courses, where the river Estorãos assumes, in this particular, the main role. River that also provides an excellent river beach. Indeed, because this beautiful parish extends from the foothills of Serra de Arga to its highest points, it enjoys this privilege of nature. Despite these important aspects, there are other attractions where man assumes responsibility for its unquestionable quality. We refer to its architectural heritage: The Roman Bridge, the Parish Church, cruises, Roman bridge of Arquinho, Chapel of S. João, ruins of Bouça do Monte de Crasto and crasto in ruins on Monte Castelo, mills of Gramela and the watermill . Its Romanesque bridge has its own characteristics that indicate that it dates from the 13th century.
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