Moledo is a village and a former

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

Lourinhã Lourinhã () is a municipality in the District of Lisbon, in the Oeste Subregion of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 25,735, in an area of 147.17 km². The seat of the municipality is the town of Lourinhã, with a population of 8,800 inhab ...

, Lisbon District, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish São Bartolomeu dos Galegos e Moledo. It has retained its agricultural character, with agriculture remaining the main activity along with civil construction. Moledo was the only village in the civil parish. Moledo has a church as well as several windmills.

Geography

Location

The civil parish of Moledo is in the Central region, northwest of the country's capital, at the northwest end of its district. It is situated 84 kilometers north of

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, 77.9 kilometers southwest of

Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own distr ...

, and 9.9 kilometers northeast of

. It is bordered by the

Leiria District The District of Leiria ( pt, Distrito de Leiria ) is a district located in Centro region of Portugal, divided between the traditional provinces of Beira Litoral and Estremadura. It borders on the north with district of Coimbra, on the east with ...

, with the parish of

Olho Marinho Olho Marinho is a Portuguese 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, o ...

belonging to the municipality of Óbidos. Moledo was bordered by the civil parishes of São Bartolomeu dos Galegos and Reguengo Grande.

Communication and transport

The civil parish is crossed by National Road 247-1, which connects the Portuguese expressway IP6 to Peniche and the A8 Motorway to

Bombarral Bombarral () is a municipality in the District of Leiria in Central Portugal. The population in 2011 was 13,193, in an area of . It includes four civil parishes ( pt, freguesia) that provide local services. History It is known that the area of ...

. A secondary road connects the center of the civil parish of

Miragaia Miragaia () is a former Freguesia, civil parish in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória. The population in 2011 was 2,067, in an area ...

, via Cezaredas.

Urbanism

The civil parish of Moledo has retained its rural character. It is the least developed and populated locality in the municipality of

. Several houses are in ruins, and there are few new real estate constructions. In

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, the parish had 289 residences.

Toponymy

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 ...

Moledo comes from the

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

of the terrain. The word means large stone, irregular stone, which corresponds to the characteristics of the local rock.

History

The first populations settled in the Neolithic period. According to historians, it is in a palace in Moledo that

Inês de Castro Inês de Castro (; in Castilian: Inés; 1325 – 7 January 1355) was a Galician noblewoman and courtier, best known as lover and posthumously-recognized wife of King Peter I of Portugal. The dramatic circumstances of her relationship with Peter ...

is said to have lived. She is said to have met

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...

there several times. The palace was abandoned as early as the

16th century The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th cent ...

, leading to its disappearance in the 19th century. On October 12, 1378, the king of that time, Ferdinand I, issued a letter of privileges, which is one of the first documents related to the history of Moledo. In 1594, the civil parish of Moledo left that of São Bartolomeu dos Galegos to become an independent

. It administratively belonged to the municipality of Óbidos and changed to that of Lourinhã after the administrative reform of November 6, 1836.

Politics and administration

Comprising only a single locality, the parish has Moledo as its chief town and is represented by the parish president, Alexandre Manuel de Jesus Maurício (PS). It is attached to the municipality of

, represented by the president José Manuel Custódio (PS). In the local elections of

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, there were 296 voters out of 406 registered, a participation rate of 72.91%. In 2009, there were 295 voters out of 394 registered, a participation rate of 74.87 %. On November 2, 2012, the Portuguese state, through the Unit for the Technical Reorganization of the Territorial Administration, expressed the wish to reduce the number of civil parishes. For Moledo, the project is to merge with the civil parish of São Bartolomeu dos Galegos within the ''União das Freguesias de São Bartolomeu dos Galegos e Moledo''.

Population and society

The civil parish has a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

and a

nursery school A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

. It also has a cemetery which is located on the territory of São Bartolomeu dos Galegos.

Demographics

The area of Moledo is 7.40 km2 with 472 inhabitants (2011), resulting in a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 64 inhabitants/km2. Moledo is the third least populated civil parish in the Lisbon district. In the

1960s File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong and Buzz ...

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

abroad led to a decline in the population of the

. Moledo had a population of 476 inhabitants in 2001, compared to 472 inhabitants in 2011.

Cultural events and festivities

The civil parish of Moledo has an association dedicated to

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

leisure Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisure ...

, and sports founded on February 18, 1983. It also has another association, the parish fabric association founded on November 25, 1940. The president is the priest, and it organizes several cultural and festive events, such as the feast in honor of Santo Antão on January 17, São Sebastião on January 20, Divino Espírito Santo on June 4, as well as the annual fair on June 6.

Economy

The

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

is mainly specialized in agricultural exploitation and civil construction.

Culture and heritage

Religious heritage

The civil parish has a Catholic place of worship, the Church of the Divino Espírito Santo located on Santa Cruz Square in the center of Moledo. Built between the late

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

and early 17th centuries, it is dedicated to the Holy Spirit. It is a Renaissance-style building with a single nave and a porch on the façade. The year 1629 is inscribed on the bell tower, probably the year of completion of the church. Its ceiling is wooden covered with an arabesque fresco. The interior walls of the church are covered with

Azulejos ''Azulejo'' (, ; from the Arabic ''al- zillīj'', ) is a form of Spanish and Portuguese painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework. ''Azulejos'' are found on the interior and exterior of churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, rest ...

dating from the

17th century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural moveme ...

, and in its center remains a tombstone dating from 1681. The

calvary Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...

, "cruzeiro" in Portuguese, is located in front of the entrance to the Church of the Holy Spirit.

Civil and natural heritage

The Royal Palace, or Palácio da Caça, was a building present in the civil parish.

is said to have lived there. She is said to have conversed with

there several times. The palace was then abandoned as early as the 16th century, leading to its disappearance in the 19th century. The monument to the fighters of the Overseas War was erected to pay homage to the soldiers who participated in the Portuguese colonial wars. It lists all the soldiers of the municipality of

and was inaugurated on January 23, 2005. The washhouse, built in 1954 by the municipality of

, is located at the exit of the parish, as is the

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

, built in the same year on the orders of Captain Simões Belo.

Heraldry

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

has several meanings: * the frames of the

windmills A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

symbolize the rural character of the parish; * the crown and hearts symbolize the love of

and Peter I: it is in the Palace of Moledo that they would have hidden their love; * the mount represents the location of the parish in the Planalto da Cesareda. The Portuguese Archaeologists' Association approved the elements of the coat of arms on September 17, 2002; they were registered by the General Directorate of Municipalities, No. 336/2002, on November 20, 2002, and officially published in the Diário da República, No. 261, III Series, on November 12, 2002.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Cite book , last=Costa Pinto , first=Filipe , title=Enciclopédia das Festas Populares e Religiosas de Portugal - Volume 3 , year=2008 , isbn=9789892013930 , language=pt Former parishes of Lourinhã