Vacation Travel in 2018 - Part 11
Piódão, a village classified as "Property of Public Interest", is located in Serra do Açôr, with an abrupt escarpment implantation and a tight mesh structure and sinuous layout, well adapted to the roughness of the surrounding space. The pastures of Serra de S. Pedro do Açor, filled with springs, attracted the Portuguese shepherds who fed their herds there. In medieval times, a small town was formed, which was given the name of Casas Piódam, later transferred to its current location, perhaps due to the installation of a Cistercian Monastery (of which there are no traces left) which will make the place go back to the century. XIII. This ancient monastery may be linked to the ancient invocation of Santa Maria (common in the Cistercian Abbeys) of the Mother Church, a reformed temple in the 18th/19th century, which endowed it with a curious façade guided by thin cylindrical towers topped by cones.
Inside, an image of Senhora da Conceição from the 15th century, current invocation of the church, altars of carving and tiles of coimbrão manufacture. Mention should also be made of the Chapel of S. Pedro with its century image. XVI. It is said that here one of Inês de Castro's murderers - Diogo Lopes Pacheco, would have settled, nicknames still existing in Piódão: the Lopes and the Pachecos, the latter had the right to their own gallery in the Church of Lourosa. In the Joanino Numeration of 1527, the first national population census, Piódão appears inserted in the village of Avô, as "casall do piodão" with two residents. Later, he joined the parish of Aldeia das Dez, from which it was detached in 1676. On October 24, 1855, he became part of the municipality of Arganil, when the municipality of Avô was extinct. However, with regard to religious jurisdiction, it remains linked to the Grandfather archdiocese.
At the end of the 19th century, Canon Manuel Fernandes Nogueira founds a College in Piódão, which many call Seminário, which operated between 1886 and 1906, and which brought together many young people, creating a cultural pole of great importance for the area. The village of Piódão is characteristic for its amphitheater layout, the so-called schist crib, with houses of great formal, architectural and aesthetic consistency. The houses, made of shale stone masonry, are covered with slabs of the same material. The windows, with small modulation, have, like the doors, color in the frames, and, at Easter, crosses made with the Blessed laurel branch are placed on the lintels of the doors to ward off the evil eye. Through its steep, narrow and tortuous alleys that form corners in a structure of tight mesh and largely preserved, a trickle of water flows here and there in an irregular canada: the Levada. Of note is the simple Fonte dos Algares. Agricultural and pastoral activities continue now, as in the past, to be dominant in the way of life of the inhabitants of Piódão, seen essentially as a way of subsistence and survival. Note the Eira, where you can enjoy a beautiful view, and the Forno do Pão.
The population that lives and settled here since the 15th century still grazes their herds, scatters the grain on the community site near the Eira, climbs the narrow sidewalk, which recalls medieval times and produces the flavors of the land, namely the chestnut and honey brandy. You have to taste them and take them home!
Equipment used:
Drone: Dji Mavic Pro
Camera: Nikon Coolpix P900
Tablet: Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 SM-T815
Camera: SONY HDR CX405
