Vila Real is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, northern Portugal.
Vila Real was ranked seventh in the list of Portugal’s most livable cities in the survey of living conditions published by the Portuguese newspaper Expresso in 2007.
History
The region shows traces of inhabitation during the paleolithic era, while the settlement of Panóias had a Roman presence. Vila Real itself was founded in 1289 by King Denis of Portugal, hence its name, meaning Royal Town. It housed more members of the royal family during the Middle Ages than any other settlement in Portugal except the capital in Lisbon, and family Coats of Arms remain above old houses, some of which still occupied by those families. Vineyards were introduced to the municipality in 1764, growing red, white and rosé wines for export. Despite its royal presence, Vila Real only gained city status under the Portuguese Republic in 1925.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of Vila Real – a sword embedded in a wreath of zambujeiro (wild olive tree) and the slogan Aleu – is derived from the decorative motif of the tomb of Pedro de Menezes, 1st Count of Vila Real, found in the Igreja da Graça in Santarém. ‘Aleu’ or ‘aleo’ is an old Portuguese term for a ‘gaming stick’ (as used in hockey or shuffleboard).
It refers to a famous episode concerning Pedro de Menezes from shortly after the Conquest of Ceuta on September 2, 1415 (commemorated on Ceuta Day). Pedro de Menezes was engaged in an outdoor game in the king’s presence when a messenger arrived reporting an imminent Moroccan attack on Portuguese-held Ceuta. Menezes is said to have raised his gaming stick (aleo) and told the king that “with that stick alone” he could defend Ceuta from all the power of Morocco. Similar design can be seen on the coat of arms of Alcoutim, where Pedro’s descendants were made Count’s of Alcoutim.
Main sights
- Capela da Misericórdia
- Capela de São Brás e o túmulo de Teixeira de Macedo
- Capela do Espírito Santo ou Capela do Bom Jesus do Hospital
- Diogo Cão‘s house
- Carvalho Araújo’s house
- Brocas’ house
- Marqueses’s house de Vila Real
- Cathedral of Vila Real
- St. Peter’s church
- Bom Jesus do Calvário church
- Clérigos’s church or “Capela Nova”
- Pelourinho de Vila Real
Museums
- Archaeology and Numismatic Museum
- Geology Museum at the Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
- Ethnographic Museum
- Sound and Image Museum, at the Vila Real’s Theatre
- Vila Velha Museum
Outside the city centre
- Alvão Natural Park
- Mateus Palace
- Quintela’s tower
- Mamoas de Justes
- Mão do Homem, in Adoufe
- Necrópole de S. Miguel da Pena
- Santuário de Panóias, in Vale de Nogueiras
