São Martinho de Anta is 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the municipality of

Sabrosa Sabrosa () is a municipality in the district of Vila Real in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 6,361, in an area of 156.92 km2. History Although the municipality was established on 6 November 1945, the history of the region ex ...

, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish São Martinho de Antas e Paradela de Guiães. The small parish extends into an area of 15.95 km², and includes a minor population of 870 inhabitants (2001). It received its name, in the 20th century, but became more known, as the birthplace of the Portuguese poet and writer

Miguel Torga Miguel Torga (), pseudonym of Adolfo Correia da Rocha ( São Martinho de Anta, Sabrosa, Vila Real district, 12 August 1907 – Coimbra, 17 January 1995), is considered one of the greatest Portuguese writers of the 20th century. He wrote po ...

, who lived in an isolated home in the parish.

History

Greek coins were dated in this region by Dr. Rui de Serpa Pinto, who suggested that their existence in this area date back to 385 (they have since disappeared). The coins were accidentally found at the beginning of the 20th century. Another remnant of its historical past was the ''Arrecada de S. Martinho'', a golden lunula structure with hollow, triangular appendages and hanging double system, possibly dating from the 4th century, and connected with the

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

ns. São Martinho de Anta was part of the early settlements that were prescribed in the 12th and 13th century

foral 200px, Foral of Castro Verde - Portugal The ''Carta de Foral'', or simply ''Foral'', was a royal document in Portugal and its former empire, whose purpose was to establish a ''concelho'' (Council) and regulate its administration, borders and priv ...

allocated to the ''lands of Panois'', specifically the settlements of Souto Maior and Roalde. In addition to the place of Anta, São Martinho de Anta was characterized by an antique castro, which later was the base for their names. The foral for Roalde mentions the locality, also referring to the residence of nobles and knights that lived in the area. The 1258

Inquirições Inquirições were the Royal Portuguese commissions and official reports. They were put forward by the crown of Portugal to accomplish royal edicts, primarily through the royal chancery. Afonso II instituted (from 1220) inquirições to investi ...

referred to: :''"they say that the King gave that royal land to his priest for a horse and mule and a falcon..."'' The King mentioned was likely King Sancho I, and that Roalde pertained to the actual São Martinho de Anta ecclesiastical parish, which was dependent on the administration of the Sé in

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

. It is unclear when São Martinho began being referred to with the suffix ''de Antas'' or ''d'Antas''. It is clear that Portuguese (and early Brazilian) encyclopedias (such as the Luso-Brasileira, O Grande Dicionário da Verbo Universal) refers to São Martinho de Antas in 1406. It was elevated to the status of ''vila'' (''town'') on 30 June 1999. Although there is a tendency to refer to the parish as ''São Martinho de Antas'', in reality, the community was fixed by decree as ''São Martinho de Anta''. Moreover, the decree-law 64/99, refers to the settlement as a villa in article one as: :''The settlement of São Martinho de Anta, in the municipality of Sabrosa, district of Vila Real, is elevated to the category of town.''

Geography

São Martinho de Anta is situated five kilometres from the municipal seat, along the roadway that connects Sabrosa and Vila Real. It includes various hamlets and places including Anta, Garganta, Roalde, São Martinho de Anta, Queda and Fragas, occupying an area of approximately 16 km². It is the largest population in Sabrosa, after the municipal seat, but its population increases considerably during the month of August, due to returnee emigrants on their vacations. In the location of Tenaria (Roalde), the Ceira River is known to spring, bring water to the

Douro River The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern part of the Meseta ...

. In addition to recreational sites, as an autocross track and tennis courts, the parish is benefited by many local services, such as the daily trash collection, connected to public water supply and drainage, a day centre, an extension of the municipal health care centre, pharmacy, post office, primary school and mini-market.

Architecture

* Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Azinheira (''Our Lady Day of the

Holmoak ''Quercus ilex'', the holly oak, also (ambiguously, as many oaks are evergreen) evergreen oak, is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the section ''Ilex'' of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single ...

''), dating from the 18th century, it includes an ornate

retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum, it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate struct ...

and painted ceiling. It is the centre of annual pilgrimages in honour of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

on 15 August and on 11 November dedicated to

Saint Martin Saint Martin may refer to: People * Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France * Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal) * Pope Martin I (c. 595–655), bishop of R ...

Notable citizens

* Adolfo Correia Rocha, more commonly known as ''

'' (12 August 1907 – Coimbra; 17 January 1995), a medic, poet and writer, receiving literary awards for his poetry, short stories, theater and a 16 volume diary, including ''"Os Contos da Montanha"''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Martinho De Anta (Sabrosa) Freguesias of Sabrosa Former parishes of Portugal