Pedraça

Among the bridges and stories of Nuno Álvares Pereira, discover Pedraça. The connection of the constable and Leonor de Alvim to Casa de Pedraça belongs to the local tradition. The matrix, the bridge of Pontinha and Santa Barbara are other references to look at the heritage and landscape of the parish.

Flax and wood between two valleys

Among the valleys of Tâmega and Peio, the history of Pedraça is also told by the work: the cultivation of flax and the crafts of wood appear in the municipal characterization. Church, cruises, alminhas and bridges add small and great references to this landscape of agricultural tradition.

From Inquiries to manor memory

The municipal presentation relates the designation Pedraços with the Inquisitions of 1258. In the relation of 1758, the parish appears in the municipality of Cabeceiras de Basto, with matrix dedicated to Santa Marinha and presentation of the rector linked to the college of São Jerónimo de Coimbra. They are documents of different times, useful to study names, institutions and power relations.

Traditions and landscape of Santa Bárbara

The memory of Nuno Álvares Pereira and Leonor de Alvim is associated with Casa de Pedraça. The report of a picket used by the Constable is presented as a local tradition, without converting it into proof of the use of that space. Santa Bárbara is a reference of devotion and landscape, along with Santa Marinha and São Gonçalo. The bridges known as Roman require their own study to fix their chronology.

Santa Barbara in XVII century documentation

In addition to the news of 1758, the municipal page refers to an obligation relating to the conservation of the hermitage of Santa Bárbara in 1624. The reference adds a documental landmark to the devotion and place recognized today as a viewpoint. It does not determine the initial date of construction of the temple nor shows that the building fully preserves the six-century configuration. The reading made in this research is from the transcribed reference, without examination of the original document.

Houses and small marks on the roads

The Casa de Parada, which the municipality is characterized by Brazilian taste, joins the houses of the Paço, the Baron of Basto and Paço de Vila in the housing landscape. On another scale, the Alminhas da Ponte de Tábuas and the cruise mark references of devotion along the paths. The cultivation of flax and wood milling allow to complete the reading of the territory with the memory of work, beyond the tradition linked to the Constable.