Proença-a-Nova () is a municipality in the district of Castelo Branco in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 8,314,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 395.40 km². The present mayor is João Lobo. The municipal holiday is June 13.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): * Montes da Senhora * Proença-a-Nova e Peral * São Pedro do Esteval * Sobreira Formosa e Alvito da Beira ** Figueira

History

Proença-a-Nova traces its origins to

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

times when it was called Cortiçada in the province of the

Lusitani The Lusitanians ( la, Lusitani) were an Indo-European speaking people living in the west of the Iberian Peninsula prior to its conquest by the Roman Republic and the subsequent incorporation of the territory into the Roman province of Lusitania. ...

. This is corroborated by archaeological findings and the innumerable Latin names. The name Cortiçada was abandoned in C.XVI in favour of Proença. Cortiçada perhaps related to the abundant production of cork oak (cortiça) or the number of tenement houses (colmeias) that had been of great importance in the region. "The town of Proença, situated nine leagues (35km) north of Crato, and seven (23km) west of Castelo Branco, was chartered by King Afonzo III of Portugal (1248-1279). The population was 150." (Padre C. da Costa, in Portuguese Corografia)." Until the date of its first charter, by Afonso III, little is known about the village of Proença but it is believed that farming the low, fertile, well irrigated lands and hunting the abundant wildlife were the most important ways of subsistence. The origin of name Proença-a-Nova (New Province) is unclear. The philological scholar Leite de Vasconcelos (Lusitana Magazine 1889, Portuguese Archaeologist 1895, and Museum Etnológico de Belém 1893, Religions of Lusitânia (1897–1913) ) thought that it related to Provence in France and that the inhabitants of Old Provence migrated to Lusitânia. However, this theory has to compete with both the theoretical possibility that the

may have migrated from the Swiss mountains in the 6th century BCE, long before

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

conquered and named

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

Provincia A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

, and another theoretical possibility that they may be

autochthonous Autochthon, autochthons or autochthonous may refer to: Fiction * Autochthon (Atlantis), a character in Plato's myth of Atlantis * Autochthons, characters in the novel ''The Divine Invasion'' by Philip K. Dick * Autochthon, a Primordial in the ...

to the Iberian region. The population was primitive until being given to the Monks of the Order of the

Hospitallers The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

, who collaborated with the first Kings to stabilise and defend the new lands. In 1244, the Prior of the Hospitallers, Frei Rodrigo Egídio, gave Proenca its first charter, a document of great importance establishing the general duties for its inhabitants and a guarantee of defense of rights. In 1512 the first Proença charter was updated under the rule of King Manuel I of Portugal. After the abdication of Miguel of Portugal in 1834, Proença became part of the District of Santarém, then in November 1835 part of Castelo Branco,

Notable people

* Pedro da Fonseca (1528 in Proença-a-Nova – 1599) a Portuguese Jesuit philosopher and theologian who worked on logic and metaphysics. * Bernardo Tavares (born 1980 in Proença-a-Nova) a Portuguese football manager,

References

External links

Town Hall official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Proenca-a-Nova Municipality Populated places in Castelo Branco District Municipalities of Castelo Branco District People from Proença-a-Nova