Terroso is a suburban area in

Póvoa de Varzim Póvoa de Varzim (, ) is a Portugal, Portuguese city in Norte Region, Portugal, Northern Portugal and sub-region of Greater Porto, from its city centre. It sits in a sandy coastal plain, a cuspate foreland, halfway between the Minho River, Minho ...

, Portugal. It is a former civil parish currently located in União das Freguesias de Aver-o-Mar, Amorim e Terroso. It is an ancient

ecclesiastical 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 ...

and 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 authorit ...

located in

. In the census of 2001, it had a population of 2,472 inhabitants and a total area of 4.63 km². A 2012 law merged the civil parish with neighbouring Amorim and Aver-o-Mar, becoming the northern parish of the city of Póvoa de Varzim. ''Terroso'' derives from the Latin ', meaning "full of soil". The name was used for Cividade or Cividade Hill.

History

Cividade de Terroso Cividade de Terroso was an ancient city of the Castro culture in North-western coast of the Iberian Peninsula, situated near the present bed of the Ave river, in the suburbs of present-day Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. Located in the heart of the ...

, an ancient Castro city established around 900 and 800 BC is located in the parish of Terroso. But the parish has been shaped by man since much earlier times.

Tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...

are known to exist in the area, such as in ''Leira da Anta'' and ''Cortinha da Fonte da Mama''. ''Mamoa de Sejães'' still exists unbroken after thousands of years. The earliest reference to Terroso dates from 953: "'", referring to its hill. The remains of a castle tower built in the 13th and 14th centuries can still be found in the Hamlet of Paço. The parish church was built in the first half of the 16th century. It was erected under the orders of King

Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: * Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180) *Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263) *Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), wa ...

. It went through several alterations over the centuries that have changed the original design. The latest involved the building of a second tower with a small carillon. The best piece is a 16th-century statue of the Virgin with legendary origins, probably an Italian work. A chapel dedicated to Saint Savior (São Salvador) was built in the hamlet that took its name. It contains a proto-baroque altar with a painting depicting the miracle of the

Battle of Ourique The Battle of Ourique ( ar, معركة أوريكه) was a battle that took place on 25 July 1139, in which the forces of Portuguese count Afonso Henriques (of the House of Burgundy) defeated those led by the Almoravid governor of Córdoba, Muha ...

. Also from the 17th century there is a small structure that marks the beginning of the aqueduct. It has 4 columns of the Tuscan order holding a small tile roof. It houses a polychromous statue of St Anthony. The Hamlet of Santo António takes its name from a large baroque chapel dedicated to St. Anthony. The interior of the chapel has some good quality golden gilded carved wood altars. During the Middle Ages it was part of Varzim and the hill was used as one of the borders of the fiefdom under the medieval military and administrative reference "'". In the modern period, it was under the administration of Barcelos, when it was transferred to the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim in 1836.

Geography

Terroso is located 5 km north of downtown Póvoa de Varzim; and is bordered by

Navais Navais is a parish and former civil parish in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. In the census of 2001, it had a population of 1,683 inhabitants and a total area of 4.23 km². A 2013 law amalgamated it into the new União das Freguesias de Aguçadour ...

and Estela to the north;

Laundos Laundos or Laúndos is one of the seven civil parishes of Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 2,055,

and the municipality of

Vila do Conde Vila do Conde (, ; "the Count's Town") is a municipality in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 79,533, in an area of 149.03 km². The urbanized area of Vila do Conde, which includes the parishes of Vila do Conde, Azurar ...

to the east; Amorim to the west and Beiriz to the south. Most of the parish is crowned by Cividade Hill and it extends to São Lourenço plain. Cividade Hill was known for its pure waters, and an aqueduct was raised in the 17th century, stretching to the Monastery of Santa Clara in Vila do Conde.

Hamlets

The parish is divided into 15 hamlets: *São Lourenço *Carregal * Passô *Santo António *Paço *Póvoas *São Pedro *São Salvador *Paranho *Vilar *Boavista * Sejães *Certainha *Ordem *Pé do Monte {{Póvoa de Varzim Former civil parishes of Póvoa de Varzim