Santa Cruz is a locality in the Silveira

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

, part of 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 laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Torres Vedras Torres Vedras () is a municipality in the Portuguese district of Lisbon, approximately north of the capital Lisbon in the Oeste region, in the Centro of Portugal. The population was 83,075, in an area of . History In 1148, Afonso I took th ...

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 ...

. It is mostly known for its extensive quality beaches. The beach of Santa Cruz served as inspiration for several poets, including

Antero de Quental Antero Tarquínio do Quental (; old spelling ''Anthero'') (18 April 184211 September 1891) was a Portuguese poet, philosopher, and writer. Do Quental is regarded as one of the greatest poets of his generation and is recognized as one of the most i ...

João de Barros João de Barros () (1496 – 20 October 1570), called the ''Portuguese Livy'', is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his ''Décadas da Ásia'' ("Decades of Asia"), a history of the Portuguese in India, Asia, and southea ...

and

Kazuo Dan was a Japanese novelist and poet. Biography Dan was born in what is now part of Tsuru, Yamanashi Prefecture, to a family originally from Kyūshū. His father's work required frequent changes of residence, so Dan grew up with his grandparents in ...

. In June 2016, an official route was inaugurated, crossing places that were once crossed by the poets. This exhibition aims to honor and immortalize the three great poets, portraying their passage and experiences through Santa Cruz.

History

The Human history in Santa Cruz dates back to prehistory with its

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

remains and antiquity with a Roman settlement which was slowly engulfed by the ocean. In the middle ages, like other places in the western world, the region suffered an urban, social and architectural decline, only surviving adverse conditions as a community, and later throughout the 17th century, the locality had frequent

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

attacks on the coast. With the French invasions the whole region gained more importance with the construction of the

Lines of Torres Vedras The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts and other military defences built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, ...

that managed to stop the enemy forces. The now known beach resort was once unknown by non-locals. In 1876,

Ramalho Ortigão José Duarte Ramalho Ortigão () (24 October 1836 – 27 September 1915) was a Portuguese writer of the late 19th century and early 20th century. Biography Ortigão spent his early years with his maternal grandmother in Porto. He studied law in ...

published "''As praias de Portugal – Guia do banhista e do viajante''" ("The beaches of Portugal – Bather and Traveler's Guide") where he included Santa Cruz in the "obscure beaches" chapter. It was only in the 20th century where this small community gained major attention by outsiders and has become increasingly developed since. File:Destaques da Praia de Santa Cruz.jpg, Santa Cruz beach File:Monumento a Kazuo Dan (Santa Cruz) 08.jpg, A monument to Kazuo Dan. A monument for each of the three poets can be found throughout the community File:Praia Alto da Vela.jpg File:Portugal - Lisbon - 2020 (50375661076).jpg File:Portugal - Lisbon - 2020 (50375661886).jpg File:Av. Alto da Vela 2, 2560 Silveira, Portugal - panoramio.jpg

References

{{Reflist Torres Vedras Populated places in Lisbon District