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Of kings, bishops and monks
The middle ages
1. Monastery of São Pedro de Cete (Paredes)
2. Cloister of São Pedro de Cete (Paredes)
3. Monastery of Paço de Sousa (Penafiel)
In Portugal, an interesting tour is
the Rota do Românico do Vale
de Sousa, an initiative linked to
the commitment to the cultural and
patrimonial tourist, promoted by the
DGPC (Directorate General for Cultural
Heritageand) different councils of the
area, such as Paredes and Penafiel,
which were joined by other localities
of the Támega valley since 2010.
Among the 58 medieval monuments
that make up the route (churches,
towers and others), we can highlight
the church of the monastery of São
Pedro de Cete in Paredes. It was built
in the late Romanesque and presents
Gothic additions such as the tower of
the façade or the cloister. The ensemble
of the monastery of Paço de Sousa
(Penafiel) should also be mentioned,
with its big three-nave church, splayedarched
façade with quintuple arcade
and a beautiful rose window, equally
built in the last moments of Romanesque.
Besides religious architecture, militar
constructions can also be visited in
this same route, such as the castle of
Aguiar de Sousa in Paredes, built in
the 10th century for the defence of the
Duero border and later remodelled. Its
tower is currently maintained.
Out of this touristic route, but very
close, stands out the church of Santa
Maria de Águas Santas, also known
as Nossa Senhora de Ó, in Maria,
recognized as National Monument
since 1910. It is the heir of a former
temple, and presents the peculiarity
of having two different naves. Only in
1874 was allowed the construction of
a third nave, the one of the southern
side, finishing with the asymmetry that
the temple façade had until then.
There are two excellent examples of
constructions from this period with
civil functionality, both residential
and public. It is the case of one of
the emblems of Bragança, the Domus
Municipalis, located very close to the
castle of the city. It is a pentagonalfloor
construction with two heights,
the lower one with a water tank and
the upper one with an open room in
a perimeter arcade, where the board
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