Idanha-a-Velha is a parish (freguesia) in the east of Portugal
, in the
municipality of Idanha-a-Nova
, and in the district Castelo Branco. It
covers an area of 20.98 km² and had a population of 79 as of
2001.
History
The Cathedral of Idanha-a-Velha.
As one of the oldest towns in Portugal, with a history of
Roman settlement recorded since the year 16 AD,
Idanha-a-Velha has been described as a "modest village with a rich
historical background". Idanha-a-Velha is built on the site of the
city of Egitânia, which previously had thousands of inhabitants.
The town
was repeatedly invaded and looted throughout history, and the ruins
evince the influence of different periods of its history: buildings
from the Pre-History, Celtic, Roman
Classicism, Visigothic, Arabic
, Middle Ages and Portuguese Manueline periods.
The town is reputed to have been the birthplace of the famous
Visigothic King
Wamba, as well as the fourth century
Saint Pope Damasus.
The town
is host to a restored 16th century church, called "the Cathedral", built on
ruins dating from the time of the Suebi, as
far back as to the fourth century — the first Visigothic cathedral
built on the Iberian
Peninsula
. The
inside of the cathedral holds the largest collection of Roman
epigraph in Europe, refurbished as a
modern museum to contain the carved and inscribed Roman
stones.
There is also a 17th century
pillory in the
village square. Nearby stand the ruins of
a Torre dos
Templários, a tower constructed on the ruins of a Roman temple
dedicated to
Venus.
References
External links
Wikis
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