Vila Bridge / Old Bridge- Cruzeiro do Senhor dos Milagres | Portugal

Hi everybody :)

I could not, in any way, mix the highlight that i saved for what i share below, with any other architectural facet present in this place, especially because taking into account the time of year, it would be confused with the effects of the upcoming festivities, which in a way ended up happening with some of the places i shared previously, where i could have delved a little deeper into the story and for proven reasons, i didn't.
But this time and although i still won't deprive myself of including some Christmas allusion, i will try to summarize and detail some of the history inherent to this construction that ended up being the origin of the city's current name.

I'm talking about the beautiful Ponte da Vila (Vila Bridge), also known as Ponte Velha (Old Bridge), the hallmark of Arcos de Valdevez.
Despite appearing much older, with a distinctly Romanesque structure and taking into account the chronological line we are used to in this type of architecture and constructions, we can conclude that this bridge is relatively modern, since its construction began in 1876 and was completed in 1880, but in fact it replaced another much older construction, also formed by four round arches and of which unfortunately no architectural elements remained and which was the origin of the main name Arcos do Val do Vez, which derives from Arcos de Valdevez.

Its foundation is documented in some engravings and bibliographies that belong to the region's historical and cultural records, where it is possible to consult the possible date of construction, being located between the 12th and 13th centuries.
As expected, this construction aims to establish a connection between the two banks of the river, and it is on the opposite bank, still on the bridge deck, that we can see the Cruzeiro do Senhor dos Milagres, in other words, is a landmark that would serve as a direction indicator and maintain its religious function, with all the weight it would have at that time, carrying a popular culture of protection and marking certain events, there erected at the request of the population.

These cruises were built at crossroads and crossing structures, as in this case.
Now leaving the history of the buildings in the background and paying a little attention to the upcoming Christmas festivities, as you can see in some of the photos shared, in the center of the bridge a luminous structure representing a Christmas ball, with exaggerated dimensions, was installed. Excellent and purposeful for taking some beautiful representative photos to remember later, as i had the opportunity to capture when a couple of lovers approached to make use of the structure and record the moment :)

On the other bank, we followed the path to visit the local Church, which i will later cover in an article dedicated to it, and along the way i had the opportunity to make some records of the historic building of Solar dos Azevedos, also known as Casa da Ponte (Bridge House) due to its proximity to the Bridge, with a construction from the end of the 18th century, with an architecture characteristic of the time, still maintaining the coat of arms over the central window.
As i mentioned, in the next article i will detail the rest of the route to the church as well as a little of its history to finish this family visit to the picturesque village.
Note, in previous articles, i described the place as being a city, and i now take this opportunity to rectify this information once we are talking about a village.

Now something that i will include in this Post and that i am thinking about including in the next posts, influenced by some blogs dedicated to travel and that add a lot to those who are truly interested in traveling.

Practical Guide

How to get to Arcos de Valdevez

Using the city of Porto as a starting point, the most convenient route to reach Arcos de Valdevez is to follow the A3 to Ponte de Lima. From this point, continue along IC28 and EN101, totaling around 100 kilometers.

Accommodation suggestions

Casinha da fonte

Ribeira Collection Hotel

Luna Arcos Hotel Nature & Wellness

Gastronomy

Churrascaria O Braseiro

O Pote Restaurante

Restaurante O Lagar

That's all for today, I hope you enjoyed it :)

Photo by @aleister
Camera - Samsung SM-A528B
Camera - Canon EOS 600D
Lens - EFS 18-55mm / 70-300mm
Location - Portugal

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Always remember:

Value your time, because every fraction counts, and the price of anything is the amount of life you trade for it.
May the memories of the travels be eternalized in the photographs, and may the photographs transport us back to the travels ;)