The origins of the municipality of Torre de Moncorvo date back to the Middle Ages. The charter of Vilariça was due to D. Sancho II, who granted it, on June 6, 1225, giving rise to the municipality of Santa Cruz da Vilariça, whose headquarters remained there until D. Dinis transferred it to Moncorvo, by charter, granted, in Lisbon, on April 12, 1285, and the village was endowed with walls and a castle. The agricultural wealth of the Vilariça valley enhances a period of economic prosperity during the 15th to 17th centuries. The expansion of hemp flax, vine, olive oil, silk, wool, almonds and cereals, the exploitation of iron, the commercial dynamism of its important fair, allied to its geographical position, which made Moncorvo an important communications node between Trás-os-Montes and Beira are the most important factors in its demographic growth.
Following the new administrative division of the Kingdom, in the 16th century, Torre de Moncorvo, it became the headquarters of one of the four counties of Trás-os-Montes then constituted, covering an extensive territory and the headquarters of the Provedor. And from an ecclesiastical point of view, it was one of the five counties in which the vast archbishopric of Braga was divided.
The production of hemp flax gives rise, at the end of the 16th century, to the royal warehouses of cordage. Derived from the great production of olive oil, a soap factory is installed. This economic prosperity explains the urban renewal of Moncorvo in the 16th century, marked by the construction of its majestic church.
The negative role of the Inquisition between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries in the progressive commercial fabric of Trás-os-Montes and the War of Restoration 1640-1668, with invasions, sieges and looting of localities will bring down all Trás-os-Montes. The conflicts that occurred with Spain, between 1640-1763, contributed powerfully to an accentuated process of depopulation and even desertification of the Northeast Trasmontano, including Moncorvo.
The region of Moncorvo, in Coroa, was not, either demographically or economically, the most populous or the most prosperous in Trás-os-Montes, since both the region of Bragança and the region of Vila Real referred plans. But, being the most extensive and with the greatest territorial continuity, it enjoyed a central place in the province, crossing it from north to south, from the border with Galicia to the Douro River, and held one of the most important ports of Trás-os-Montes, the road from Beira which, through Pocinho - where the highest yielding boat on the Douro River served - and Moncorvo, connected Bragança and Miranda.
Aerial view near the main church from 16th century
Main church (16th century) of Torre de Moncorvo
Here we are at the mouth of the Rio Sabor, which is a tributary of the Douro River. It is the parish Cabeça Boa, with 428 inhabitants, which is located between mountains and overlooks the valley of Vilariça and the Douro River, in the extreme west...
The Lousa, is located on an extensive plateau, 800 meters high, to the west of the municipality on the right bank of the Douro River, delimiting the municipality of Moncorvo to the west with that of Carrazeda de Ansiães. Integrated in the Douro De...
Mother Church, Baptistry. Built from 1544, in the final phase of the third Manueline period, already in the reign of D. João III (1521-1557), of the maritime expansion; framed within the 3-nave hall churches with central tower (1517-1540). They ar...
Mother Church, Chagas Chapel. Built from 1544, in the final phase of the third Manueline period, already in the reign of D. João III (1521-1557), of the maritime expansion; framed within the 3-nave hall churches with central tower (1517-1540). The...
The head of the church with 3 naves corresponds to a head with a plan that shows the configuration of the chapels it houses on the outside: the largest chapel (the one we see) with a rectangular plan, and two collaterals, with a semicircular design.
We are in the central nave. There are 3 vaults at the same height. In this church, contrary to the normal, the main chapel is oriented to the west, this is the result of the difficulty of building the Tower on the steeper side of the land (west)
Construída a partir de 1544 ,na fase final do terceiro manuelino já no reinado de D.João III (1521-1557), da expansão marítima; enquadrada-se dentro das igrejas-salão de 3 naves com torre central (1517-1540). São modelos de igrejas pseudo-fortifi...
Built from 1544, in the final phase of the third Manueline period, already in the reign of D. João III (1521-1557), of the maritime expansion; framed within the 3-nave hall churches with central tower (1517-1540). They are models of pseudo-fortifi...
Built from 1544, in the final phase of the third Manueline period, already in the reign of D. João III (1521-1557), of the maritime expansion; framed within the 3-nave hall churches with central tower (1517-1540). They are models of pseudo-fortifi...
Built from 1544, in the final phase of the third Manueline period, already in the reign of D. João III (1521-1557), of the maritime expansion; framed within the 3-nave hall churches with central tower (1517-1540). They are models of pseudo-fortifi...
Built from 1544, in the final phase of the third Manueline period, already in the reign of D. João III (1521-1557), of the maritime expansion; framed within the 3-nave hall churches with central tower (1517-1540). They are models of pseudo-fortifi...
The remnants of the complex, some sections of wall at the height of Praça da República and the surrounding area, are classified as a Property of Public Interest by Decree published on 20 October 1955. Located in a dominant position to the west of ...
