Santa Marta de Penaguião (
or ) is a
Portuguese municipality in the district of
Vila Real
Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the Norte, Portugal, North region, Portugal. It is also the seat of the Douro (intermunicipal community), Douro Intermunicipal communities of Portugal, intermunicipal comm ...
, in the northern region of
Douro
The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...
. The population in 2011 was 7,356,
[Instituto Nacional de Estatística]
/ref> in an area of 69.28 km2.[Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país]
/ref>
History
The history of Santa Marta de Penaguião is affirmed by vestiges of the castros that have been discovered in Fontes, Lobrigos, Cumieira, Louredo and Medrões, which were settled prior to the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...
.toponymy
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 na ...
in the region also presupposes the existences of tribal clans in this Douro valley region.[
The municipality of Santa Marta de Penaguião were part of the ''Terras de Penaguião'', an administrative division that existed during early Middle Ages (9th-10th century) that extended between the Douro and Corgo watersheds, including the Serra do Marão and the ''Terras de Panóias'' (today Vila Real).][ Comprehensively, this included the current municipality, in addition to portions of the municipalities of Peso da Régua and Vila Real.][
During the reign of Afonso Henriques the region was governed by Moço Viegas, son of Egas Moniz.][
King Sancho I issued a charter () in 1202, and King Manuel I re-issued a new foral on 15 December 1519.][ The forals provided detailed explanations of the rights, privileges and responsibilities of the local landowners, covered within the limits of the municipality.][
During the 17th-18th century there was a marked increase in the homes, estates, churches and patrimony constructed in the municipality, while documents refer to expensive land rents obtained by seigneurial landowners.][ This was primarily due to export of wine and the cultivation of vineyards, which occupied a great part of the terraced landholdings of the local gentlemen. This success also brought a lot of opportunism, the mixing of castes, and later, the collapse of wine sales, as the quality deteriorated. In order to overcome these problems, and in order to rejuvenate exports, (through the influence of the ]friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...
João de Mansilha and the Marquess of Pombal), King Joseph signed into existence (10 September 1756) the ''Companhia Geral de Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro''.[
This company improved the production of wine sales in the Douro valley, establishing a Demarcated Export product with specific quality expectations: wines that could not meet these levels of quality could not be sold as "Douro Wines". The ''Companhia Geral'' was also responsible for affixing similar ''demarcation'' to the Porto Wine, before any non-Douro brands began appearing in Europe.][
In the 19th century, through the administrative reforms, and owing to the regions importance to the Demarcated Region of the Douro, Santa Marta retained its municipal status.][
]
Geography
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 7 civil parishes ('' freguesias''):
Notable people
* António Osório Sarmento de Figueiredo Jr. (1855–1935) a nobleman, jurist, politician and magistrate.
* Eurico Gomes (born 1955) known as ''Eurico'', a former footballer with 313 club caps and 38 for Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Marta de Penaguiao
Municipalities of Vila Real District
Towns in Portugal