Vidigueira ( or ) is a town and a

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 ...

in the

District of Beja The Beja District () is located in southern Portugal. The district capital is the city of Beja. It is the largest district of the country by area, and constitutes around 11% of its area. Municipalities The district is composed of 14 municipali ...

in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,932, in an area of 316.61 km².Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país
/ref> The present Mayor is Manuel Rosa Narra, elected by the

Unitary Democratic Coalition The Unitary Democratic Coalition ( pt, CDU – Coligação Democrática Unitária, PCP–PEV) is an electoral and political coalition between the Portuguese Communist Party ( pt, Partido Comunista Português or PCP) and the Ecologist Party "The G ...

. The municipal holiday is

Ascension Day The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared b ...

. The archaeological site of the

Roman Ruins of Villa Áulica and Convent of São Cucufate 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 letter ...

are situated near Vidigueira.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (''

freguesias ''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Port ...

''): * Pedrógão * Selmes * Vidigueira * Vila de Frades

Notable people

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...

(c.1460s – 1524) the Portuguese navigator, was made

Count of Vidigueira Count of Vidigueira (in Portuguese ''Conde da Vidigueira'') was a Portuguese comital title of nobility awarded by King Manuel I of Portugal to Dom Vasco da Gama, who discovered the maritime route from Europe to India. The title was created by a r ...

by 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), was ...

on the return from his discovery of the maritime route from Europe to India *

Achilles Statius Achilles Statius (or Aquiles Estaço) (12 June 1524, Vidigueira – 17 September 1581) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Humanism, humanist and writer, since 1555 living in Rome, where he was a secretary of the pope. Achilles Statius is now mo ...

(1524 in Vidigueira – 1581) humanist poet and commentator * Forebears of radical Dutch philosopher

Baruch Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

(1662-1677) lived in Vidigueira since at least the 16th century, before escaping from the

Portuguese Inquisition The Portuguese Inquisition ( Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of its king, John III. ...

to the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

. A number of them were employed in service to the counts of Vidigueira. Israel, Jonathan I., ''Spinoza, Life & Legacy''. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2023, 82-88

References

External links

Town Hall official website
Towns in Portugal Populated places in Beja District Municipalities of Beja District {{Beja-geo-stub

Parishes

Notable people

See also

References

External links