Arcos (Vila do Conde)

Template:Geobox Arcos, which is civil parish in the municipality of Vila do Conde, but near the north-eastern frontier with the municipality of Barcelos, it lives in the shadow of its larger municipal neighbour. In 2001, its population was 826 inhabitants in an area of 5.81 km² that crosses the Ave River.

History

Tradition suggests that in the parish toponymy developed from the location of a Moorish castle, on a mountain with the same in Casais, the siting of a Roman bridge near Monte da Reguenga or the an subterranean road that lead to the Este River, where horses were sent for watering. It is likely that a medieval castle existed in Argifonso, since structures and a castro was discovered in the vicinity, but Moorish influences in the Iberian peninsula only occurred at the end of 711. During Roman occupation, any settlements would have occupied the cultivatable fields, causing the desertion of the castros: the Castro of Casais still presents vestiges of the castro culture and Roman artefacts. Other legends, refer to an ecclesiastical parish dedicated to Sant'Iago in Moldes, although no documented proof exists.

Its ex-libris the Roman-style bridge, actually dates back to the 12th century; in 1140, the bridge already existed, but historians point to a ancient bridge that crossed the Ave River. Medieval documents referred to it as the via vecteris (Template:Lang-en), alluding to its Roman history.

Since 1836, Arcos existed as a integral part of Vila do Conde.

During the 9th century (1078-1091) there is a reference to São Miguel de Arcos, in the ecclesiastical census in Braga and Guimarães. Yet, records from census administered by bishop D. Pedro, in the Sé Cathedral in Braga, nor the 1220 inventory of Afonso II of Portugal never refer to Arcos as an ecclesiastical parish, nor the basis of its existence.

Geography

Population of Arcos (1900 - 2001) Year Pop. ±% 1900 630 —     1911 649 +3.0% 1920 636 −2.0% 1930 732 +15.1% 1940 807 +10.2% 1950 781 −3.2% 1960 852 +9.1% 1970 770 −9.6% 1981 891 +15.7% 1991 853 −4.3% 2001 869 +1.9%

Situated north of the Ave River, alongside the Este River, it is sheltered by the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim, in the north-eastern parish of Vila do Conde. Yet, owing to its distance from the municipal seat, Póvoa de Varzim and Vila Nova de Famalicão, it lives in the shadow of the much larger urban community of Barcelos.

The Roman-style Ponte d'Ave (later Ponte de São Miguel) that crosses the Ave River, travels north in the direction of Rates, and eventually to Santiago de Compostela.

Architecture

• Ponte de São Miguel - along the regional EN 306 roadway outside Arcos, the Medieval bridge is of a cantilever construction of granite with three archs dating back to the 12th century; the voussoir (arching bricks) are straight, extra-hard but irregular, with the central arch the largest of the construction.

Notable citizens

• José Maria Campos Trocado - responsible for contributing, in the area of Rego, a cross to mark the parishes Christianism, which was inaugurated in December 2009

References

Notes

Sources

• Pinho, Manuel Fernando Soares (December 2005). "Nos 150 anos da Igreja Paroquial de S. Miguel de Arcos – Vila do Conde" (in Portuguese). Arcos, Portugal: Fábrica da Igreja Paroquial de S. Miguel de Arcos. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)