Ferro is a town and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the municipality of
Covilhã
Covilhã () is a city and a municipality in the Centro region, Portugal. The city proper had 34,772 inhabitants in 2001. The municipality population in 2011 was 51,797, in an area of . It is located in the Beiras e Serra da Estrela subregion and ...
, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 1,700,
[Instituto Nacional de Estatística]
/ref> in an area of . Ferro is the Portuguese word for iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
.
History
The settlement of this parish goes back to Roman times
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
, since it was this people that gave the name to the village, through the Latin word Ferrum, because the Romans, in the lands they conquered, took advantage of the mineral resources of the subsoil, and it was known the richness of this region in iron, which is why it is not surprising that the toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
has exactly to do with this reality of the civil parish. From that period, several archaeological remains were found that prove the previous statements: coins, pieces of pottery, bricks, manual millstones and carved stones are some of the examples that we can point out. Ferro was also a curate attached to the priory of Santiago da Covilhã, with an annual income of two hundred thousand réis
The first official currency of Brazil was the real (pronounced ; pl. ''réis''), with the symbol Rs$. As the currency of the Portuguese empire, it was in use in Brazil from the earliest days of the colonial period, and remained in use until 1942 ...
. In terms of architectural heritage, the Mother Church, with baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
features, built in the 18th century, highlights its interior altars in gilded woodcarving and the altarpiece of the tabernacle
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...
. The existing altars are dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Conceição and Nossa Senhora do Rosário. As for the Holy Spirit chapel, it maintains most of its original elements, having been built in the 16th century and having belonged to the Order of Santiago
The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" (St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgri ...
. The 18th century chapel of the Sacred Heart of Mary is located on the outskirts of the town and has a simple architecture that makes it more beautiful. The great growth that the civil parish has experienced since the second half of the 20th century was rewarded with the elevation to the category of town on June 21, 1995.
Geography
Located in the southwest of the municipality and near the left bank of the river Zêzere in an area called Cova da Beira, the civil parish of Ferro is about 11 kilometers from the city of Covilhã which is the seat of the municipality. The city of Fundão is about 16 kilometers to south-southwest by road. It is composed by the villages of Freixo, Lameiras, Madeira, Monte Serrano, Penedia, Rasas, Ribeiro do Moinho, Sesmarias, Sítio do Marujo, Sítio da Póvoa, Sítio do Ribeiro de Linhares and Souto Alto. Ferro is limited to the north by part of the parish of Peraboa, separated from Ferro by the Ribeira de Caria, and also by the Zêzere River, which serves as the natural boundary between this parish and Boidobra
Boidobra is a civil parish in the municipality of Covilhã
Covilhã () is a city and a municipality in the Centro region, Portugal. The city proper had 34,772 inhabitants in 2001. The municipality population in 2011 was 51,797, in an area of . I ...
. To the south it borders the lands of Peroviseu, to the east is limited by the parishes of Peraboa and Peroviseu and to the west it borders the civil parishes of Tortosendo and Alcaria. According to Maria Ascensão Rodrigues, author of "Ferro, Cova da Beira", "Ferro has, as its main elevation, a small mountain range, on the slope of which is located, and from which one enjoys, either by day or by night a breathtaking panorama, with the sumptuous Serra da Estrela
Serra da Estrela () is the highest mountain range in Continental Portugal. Together with the Serra da Lousã it is the westernmost constituent range of the Sistema Central and also one of the highest in the system. It includes mainland Portugal's ...
as a background in which are embedded, as jewels that adorn it, the typical and picturesque city of Covilhã. (...) Still nestles at his feet Boidobra, with its uber-gorgeous and wonderful valley, separated from the fertile lands of Ferro by the river Zêzere".
Economy
Of markedly rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...
characteristics, its population is dedicated primarily to agricultural activity, however, since the second half of the 20th century, there has been an increase in the number of people working in industry, and some trade and services have also emerged. The town of Ferro is a satellite town
Satellite cities or satellite towns are smaller municipalities that are adjacent to a principal city which is the core of a metropolitan area. They differ from mere suburbs, subdivisions and especially bedroom communities in that they have m ...
of both the city of Covilhã
Covilhã () is a city and a municipality in the Centro region, Portugal. The city proper had 34,772 inhabitants in 2001. The municipality population in 2011 was 51,797, in an area of . It is located in the Beiras e Serra da Estrela subregion and ...
and the city of Fundão. The area is famed for its cherry and chestnut
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelat ...
orchards and related thematic fairs held in the town every year.[XVI Feira da Castanha no Ferro (Covilhã) (beira.pt) https://beira.pt/portal/agenda-de-eventos/xvi-feira-da-castanha-no-ferro-covilha/]
References
Freguesias of Covilhã
{{CasteloBranco-geo-stub