Day 1 : Misericordia Church of Ponte de Lima
Dating back to the institution in 1530, the current church was erected in the 17th and 18th centuries, consisting of a single nave, a chancel with a coffered vault (1638) and a main portico open laterally over the cemetery, which is the churchyard currently closed by a curious railing, the effect of the porch balcony that delimits this enclosure being remarkable.
Matriz Church of Ponte de LimaOrdered to be built by D. João I in 1425, its conclusion is probably from 1446.
The various transformations and extensions over the centuries are very visible, due to the overlapping of several styles - Romanesque, Gothic and Neoclassical, such as the Gothic portal topped by an 18th century rose window.
Monastery and Church Paroquial de RefoiosThe building of the Monastery of Refoios, founded in the 12th century by D. Afonso Ansemondes, for Canons of the Rule of St. Augustine, currently houses the installations of the Superior School of Agrarian of Ponte de Lima, being next to the imposing Parish Church of the parish that gives the name of the group - Refoios de Lima.
Old Chain Tower and S. Paulo TowerClassified as Real Estate of Public Interest, as well as the wall cloth that unites them, the Tower of Old Chain and the Tower of S. Paulo (which also had the Expectação Tower and Postigo Tower) are the most notorious of what remains of the old Ponte de Lima wall, which, in addition to the walled structure, was made up of towers and doors, an ensemble built in the reign of Pedro I in the fourteenth century.
The Tower of Cadeia Velha or New Door is the result of the large improvement works made on the tower, which already existed here as part of the walled structure of the village (14th century), ordered by King D. Manuel to install the Prison District and concluded in 1511.
Ponte de Lima Noble FountainThe Noble Fountain in Largo de Camões was completed in 1603, after a 1580 fake tax was levied on some consumer goods, namely the precious salt, whose revenue served to erect what we now enjoy as a monument.
It was built in the current Largo Dr. António Magalhães, at the time one of the main entrance doors in the wall of the village, from where it was transferred to Largo de Camões in 1929. Its Renaissance risk and execution are currently attributed to the famous Limiano Master João Lopes, the guy.
Pelourinhos de Ponte de LimaThe primitive pillory is attributed to the 16th century and was erected on the beach, roughly in front of the S. Paulo tower.
At the beginning of the 19th century, arms from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarve were added. Compulsively demolished at the end of the liberal struggles, it was rebuilt in the Estado Novo in front of the Paços do Concelho using some identified fragments of the primitive monument.
Roman Bridge and Medieval BridgeThe former libris of Ponte de Lima, which along with the river that bathes the village, gave the name to the locality, is its bridge. In fact, it is a set formed by two bridges: a medieval section, of greater dimension, that begins in the left margin and extends until the Church of Santo António of the Old Tower and it passes even in two arcs. Then the section of the Roman bridge. They are only five arches from the great arch that is in dry bed.
Tower of Refoios e Paço do Curutelo (Freixo)It was erected in the 14th century, integrating the walled defence structure of the village, and its name owes to the existence of an image of S. Paulo, placed in a small building on the door of the wicket that was adjacent to it. This quadrangular tower crowned by merlons, preserves the supports of the floors in the interior walls.
Basilica of Santa Luzia (20th century)The temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus built on the western spur of the Santa Luzia mountain, from where the city of Viana do Castelo dominates and “blesses”, is undoubtedly one of the best known and most emblematic monuments in the country.
It is an excellent example of revivalist architecture bringing together monumental yet harmonious neo-Romanesque, neo-Byzantine and neo-gothic elements, by one of the architects of greater national and international projection at the time, the architect Miguel Ventura Terra (1866-1919), author, by example, the remodelling of the São Bento Palace, currently the Assembly of the Republic.
Although the project dates back to 1898, the work only started in the early years of the 20th century, and the temple was opened for worship on August 22, 1926, after the death of its author, and was only completed in 1943, almost half a decade after.
