Amarante Stadium

Amarante (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐmɐˈɾɐ̃t(ɨ)] (listen)) is a municipality and municipal seat in the Tamega e Sousa subregion in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 56,264, in an area of 301.33 square kilometres (116.34 sq mi). The city itself had a population of 11,261 in 2001. The city has been part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network under the category of City of Music since 2017.

History

Amarante's origin dates to the primitive peoples that hunted and gathered in the Serra da Aboboreira, sometime during the Stone Age, and extended during the Bronze Age and later the Romanization of the Iberian peninsula.

The first prominent building erected during the area of Amarante was likely the Albergaria do Covelo do Tamega sometime in the 12th century, by order of Queen D. Mafalda, wife of D. Afonso Henriques. These types of shelter were constructed in small settlements and were used by travellers, especially the poor who transited the territory. Permanent settles fixed themselves around the local churches, such as the Church of Sao Verissimo and Church of Lufrei, resulting in growth during the intervening years.

The urban agglomeration of Amarante became important and gained visibility with the arrival of Goncalo (1187-1259) a Dominican friar who was born in Tagilde (Guimaraes), who settled in the area following a pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem. He was instrumental in the development of the region, with many local structures attributed to his efforts, including the construction of the stone bridge across the Tamega River. Following his death, Amarante became the destination of pilgrimages and grew substantially.

In the 16th century, King D. John III expanded the local church and resulting in its conversion into a large Dominican monastery. The bridge was destroyed by a flood in 1763 and was rebuilt.

In the second French invasion, during the Peninsular War, French forces commanded by Marshall Soult, found themselves at the bridge over the Tameg