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Situated 56 km east of Oporto, the pretty town of Amarante is set immaculately along the banks of the River Tâmega. This ancient settlement was founded as Turdetanos in 360 BC and went on to prosper under the Romans. Built in 1790, the town’s impressive bridge was the scene of heroic resistance in 1809 by the people of Amarante, who fought off French Marshall Soult’s advance for 14 days before his army advanced and burnt down their houses. Taking place on the first Saturday and Sunday in June, the annual Festa de São Gonçalo is among the most colourful fairs in Portugal. Traditionally, it is the time for unmarried people to exchange phallus-shaped cakes as tokens of their love. What to see. Dating back to 1540, the exotic honey-gold granite façade of the church and former monastery of São Gonçalo houses a lovely interior of painted columns and a dramatic high altar, under which exists a little golden chapel where Saint Gonçalo himself lies buried. Born in Amarante at the end of the 12th century, Saint Gonçalo is mostly revered for his many healing miracles. The church also features a magnificent two-storey Renaissance cloister. The town’s museum is dedicated to the life and work of locally-born Cubist artist Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso (1887-1918), one of Portugal’s leading 20th-century artists. Nearby. The ancient Benedictine Monastery of São Salvador in Travanca (founded 970-1003) lies deep in a wooded valley near Vila Cova de Lixa, just 10 km from Amarante. Now an asylum, the church features two striking Romanesque portals and a separate tower.

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Last updated :Tuesday, 07 July 2009 16:50PM