Rich in landscape elements the region of Amarante also gathers a remarkable set of buildings and monuments. Those who travel searching for cultural values sooner or later find Amarante to be a mandatory destination. The travellers end up doing a personal interpretation: the religious, the aristocratic, and the importance of the mountain and of the river… each other way Amarante is a truly religious crossroads: its history, its monuments, its traditions. It’s also a major hub that offers the discovery of other regions such as Terras de Basto, Trás-os-Montes, Douro and a bit faraway by easier to reach thanks to the new roads built, the city itself…Oporto.
The Amarante’s historical references should be seek in the Megalithic and Palaeolithic Periods dating from those periods the most ancient monuments of the region. However the most significant constructions built in the rural areas are from the Middle Ages such as the Romanesque churches of Gondar, Lufrei, Jazente, Gatão, Freixo de Baixo and the Travanca’s Monastery. These are examples of the best legacy that this architectonic style had left in the Iberian Peninsula. In the city the building that stands out is the Saint Gonçalo’s Monastery whose church visit is indispensable to any pilgrim or tourist. But the truth is that the Historical Centre gathers a remarkable set of buildings and monuments predominantly of the Baroque style from which highlight the churches of Saint Pedro and Saint Domingos, the Solar dos Magalhães and the Cerca House. Outside the city the highlight goes to monuments such as the Santa Cruz de Riba Tâmega’s Council Chambers, the Travanca’s Monastery and the Romanesque churches of Mancelos, Jazente, Freixo de Baixo, Gatão or Gondar.
The big festivities honouring Saint Gonçalo happen in the first weekend of July. The municipal holiday takes place on the 8th July. In the region and in what concerns handcraft the highlight goes to the Gondar’s dark pottery, the wickerwork, the lacework and the embroidery and also the woollen blankets and socks.
