Idanha-a-Nova () is a town and surrounding municipality in the district of Castelo Branco, in east-central

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

. A border municipality with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, the population of the municipality in 2011 was 9,716,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 1416.34 km², making it one of the largest and least densely populated municipalities in Portugal as well as the first Portuguese municipality by population ageing. King Alfonso II (1211-1223) confirmed its charter in 1219 renaming the village with the current place names (Idanha-a-Nova) to distinguish it from the old Idanha (hereinafter Idanha-a-Velha), 18 kilometers away. The municipal holiday is the Monday 15 days after

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

. The incumbent mayor is Armindo Moreira Palma Jacinto, representing the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of ...

History

There are numerous prehistoric vestiges of human occupation throughout the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova (Idanha "the new"), such as

menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found ...

s and

tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inh ...

s. The Romans had an important influence, namely in the civil parishes of

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in ...

, Idanha-a-Velha (Idanha "the old", formerly known as the Roman ''Civitas Igaeditanorum'' and the Germanic ''Egitânia'') and Ladoeiro and in the countryside around the town of Idanha-a-Nova proper, where there was a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...

, immortalized in an ancient

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

. After

the fall of the Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...

, the

Suevi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...

and

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is k ...

dominated, and is from that time the creation of the now extinct Bishopric of

Egitânia Idanha-a-Velha (Idanha "the old") is a village in the civil parish (''freguesia'') of Monsanto e Idanha-a-Velha, in the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova (Idanha "the new"), central eastern Portugal, and the site of ancient Egitânia, a former bishopr ...

. In terms of architectural heritage, Egitânia (Idanha-a-Velha) stands out as an archaeological site from the year 534, which was one of the most important cities in

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lu ...

at a time, with the remaining sections of Roman pavements and the Romanesque bridge, built over the Ponsul River. In 1187, a castle was built by

Gualdim Pais Dom Gualdim Pais (1118 – 13 October 1195), a Portuguese crusader, Knight Templar in the service of Afonso Henriques of Portugal. He was the founder of the city of Tomar. Biography Gualdim Pais was born in Amares (a town in the province of ...

, a Portuguese crusader,

Knight Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

in the service of

Afonso Henriques of Portugal Afonso I of PortugalOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French inf ...

. King Sancho I (1185-1211) granted Idanha a foral charter in 1201 in order to encourage the settlement and defence of the land. His successor, King Alfonso II (1211-1223) confirmed this charter in 1219 renaming the village with the current place names (Idanha-a-Nova) to distinguish it from the old Idanha (hereinafter Idanha-a-Velha), 18 kilometers away. The village of Idanha-a-Nova has developed a lot since then, at the same time Idanha-a-Velha went into steady decline. In the late fifteenth century, King

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portuga ...

(1495–1521), was surprised with the difference in the development of the two Idanhas (1496) and in June 1510, recognizing the progress of Idanha-a-Nova, granted it new charter. At this time, the town and its castle, including the layout, was recorded down by Duarte de Armas in his

Book of Fortresses The Book of Fortresses (Portuguese: ''Livro das Fortalezas'') is a sixteenth-century manuscript written in 1509–1510 by the Royal Clerk Duarte De Armas, Duarte de Armas at the behest King Manuel I of Portugal. The work contains drawings of all ...

in 1509. A border municipality with Spain, the whole area was theatre of war, skirmishes and invasions throughout several periods in

Portuguese history The history of Portugal can be traced from circa 400,000 years ago, when the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Homo heidelbergensis. The Roman invasion in the 3rd century BC lasted several centuries, and developed the Roman provinc ...

. A large part of the population of the entire area migrated to other parts of Portugal and foreign countries from the 1960s onwards. The massive exodus was due to economic reasons since the area remained cut-off from the rest of the country and neighboring Spain as well as largely underdeveloped throughout most of the 20th century. From the 2000s to the early 2020s, thanks to EU structural and cohesion funds, inland Portugal's settlement policies, the rise of

tourism in Portugal Tourism in Portugal serves millions of international and domestic tourists. Tourists visit to see cities, historic landmarks, enjoy beaches, or religious sites. As of 2019, Portugal had 27 million visitors. The most popular destinations ...

and a wave of foreign direct investment, the depopulation phenomenon was mitigated but the municipality is still characterized by stagnation in population growth and intense population ageing.

Economy

The economy of the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova revolves around

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, animal husbandry,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

and agribusiness. The municipality has excelled in sustainable farming, crop seeds,

cheesemaking Cheesemaking (or caseiculture) is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentr ...

and

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, as well as a center of olive and almond production and processing. The town of Idanha-a-Nova has a large variety of shops, cafés and restaurants. The largest supermarket in the town is a

Intermarché Intermarché (English translation: Intermarket) is the brand of a general commercial French supermarket, part of the large retail group Les Mousquetaires founded in 1969 under the name EX Offices, by Jean-Pierre Le Roch. EX Offices was renamed I ...

. The Marechal Carmona Dam, a gravity dam, is within the municipality. Near the reservoir of this dam, on its left bank, the camping park of Idanha is found. The municipality of Idanha-a-Nova has hosted the internationally renowned Boom Festival since 2002. The Corpo Nacional de Escutas (CNE, National Corps of Scouts), the largest Portuguese scouting organization, has a major, permanent scout centre in the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova where Portugal's National Scout Jamboree (ACANAC) takes place. During both Boom Festival and the National Scout Jamboree (ACANAC), the population of the municipality temporarily increases several fold. Termas de Monfortinho

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He ...

is also located in the municipality.

Green Valley Food Lab

The Green Valley Food Lab is a

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 ...

-based

business park A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typicall ...

in Idanha-a-Nova, which is an evolution of the previous award-winning rural-based

incubator An incubator is anything that performs or facilitates various forms of incubation, and may refer to: Biology and medicine * Incubator (culture), a device used to grow and maintain microbiological cultures or cell cultures * Incubator (egg), a de ...

. It was designed by the local authorities of Idanha-a-Nova as a Portuguese "Silicon Valley" of the rural world. It has a business area of 800

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s, which includes the properties of Couto da Várzea, Ribeiro do Freixo and Lombas, as well as the Agricultural Logistics Center of Ladoeiro. In terms of companies, by 2020, there were 55 companies located in the Green Valley Food Lab (22 blueberry producers, the largest continuous area of organic blueberry production in Europe; 60 hectares of

Opuntia ficus-indica ''Opuntia ficus-indica'', the Indian fig opuntia, fig opuntia, or prickly pear, is a species of cactus that has long been a domesticated crop plant grown in agricultural economies throughout arid and semiarid parts of the world. ''O. ficus-indica ...

production; as well as genetic improvement of animal production;

aromatic herb An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s; fruits and vegetables businesses). The Food Lab has developed partnerships with national and international entities to bring researchers to Idanha to help develop new ways of producing food in organic production at more competitive prices. In the Green Valley, the Collaborative Laboratory (CoLAB) of the Agência Nacional de Inovação (National Innovation Agency) operates Idanha Food Lab, which brings together 14 entities from

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

and the business community and is managed by Food4Sustainability.

Education

Besides kindergarten and schools with classes from the 1st to the 12th grade, Idanha-a-Nova is home to an institution of

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

, the

business management Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of managemen ...

school of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality (''

concelho Concelho () is the Portuguese-language term for municipality, referring to the territorial subdivision in local government. In comparison, the word ''município'' () refers to the organs of State. This differentiation is still in use in Portugal ...

'') is divided into 13 civil parishes (''

freguesias ''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Port ...

''): *

Aldeia de Santa Margarida Aldeia de Santa Margarida is a parish (''freguesia'') in the municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional la ...

* Idanha-a-Nova e Alcafozes (includes the town of Idanha-a-Nova, the seat of the municipality, and the village of Alcafozes) * Ladoeiro * Medelim * Monfortinho e Salvaterra do Extremo * Monsanto e Idanha-a-Velha * Oledo * Penha Garcia * Proença-a-Velha * Rosmaninhal * São Miguel de Acha * Toulões * Zebreira e Segura (includes the town of Zebreira)

Climate

Idanha-a-Nova has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Csa'') with cool to mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. The town is located at roughly altitude. Places at lower elevations (e.g. Ladoeiro, shown below) can get even hotter in the summer, with average daily temperatures rounding in July and August.

Notable individuals

Notable individuals of the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova include:

Olden times

Pope Damasus I Pope Damasus I (; c. 305 – 11 December 384) was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death. He presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list of sacred scripture. He spoke out against major heresies ( ...

(ca.305 – 384) a Pope who was born in

or Vimaranes. * Amador of Portugal hermit and saint, born in

. *

King Wamba Wamba (Medieval Latin: ''VVamba, Vamba, Wamba''; 643 – 687/688) was the king of the Visigoths from 672 to 680. During his reign, the Visigothic kingdom encompassed all of Hispania and part of southern Gaul known as Septimania. According to He ...

(ca.643 – 687/688)

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

king, from 672 to 680; born in

(disputed). * Roderic,

king in

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hisp ...

between 710 and 711, said to have been buried in

(disputed).

Modern times

* Teófilo Duarte (1898–1958) a colonial administrator, military officer and politician; supported the '' Estado Novo'' * Manuel de Paiva Boléo (1904–1992) was a professor of

Romance philology Romance studies or Romance philology ( an, filolochía romanica; ca, filologia romànica; french: romanistique; eo, latinida filologio; it, filologia romanza; pt, filologia românica; ro, romanistică; es, filología románica) is an acade ...

and Portuguese

linguistics Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...

. * Manuel d'Almeida Trindade (1918 in Monsanto – 2008) Bishop of

Roman Catholic Diocese of Aveiro The Portuguese Roman Catholic Diocese of Aveiro ( la, Dioecesis Aveirensis) has existed since 1938. In that year it was formed as territories taken from the historical diocese of Coimbra, diocese of Porto and diocese of Viseu were combined. It ...

* Luís Filipe de Castro Mendes (born 1950) Portuguese politician who served as

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizatio ...

References

External links

Town Hall official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of Castelo Branco District