Be transported back in time to eras of conquest and discovery, to Cleopatra, Julius Caesar or Mark Antony. Travel to a time that changed the world, that created stories that continue to this day and are the subject of books and films. This is possible without the need for a time machine. Portugal is full of architectural and cultural heritage all over its territory.
Viana do Castelo
In this city in Minho we can find the Citânia de Santa Luzia, situated on the crown of Monte de Santa Luzia, 226 metres high, just above the Basilica, we find ruins that represent one of the most remarkable examples of fortified settlements on the Iberian Peninsula. Also known as the ‘Old City of Santa Luzia’, it shows traces of occupation between the Iron Age and Romanisation periods and was classified as a National Monument in 1926.
A place cunningly chosen for the entire surrounding area, from the estuary and mouth of the River Lima to the coastal area by the Atlantic Ocean, it becomes evidence of Roman occupation and their strategic thinking and alertness to possible attacks, in this citadel its inhabitants were able to dominate vast areas on the coast, as well as control the movement of the entrances and exits at the mouth of the Lima. The ruins found are believed to be only a third of what was once built there, a significant part having been destroyed by the construction of the Hotel de Santa Luzia and access roads.
A place of worship to the history of yesterday and of an empire of enormous warlike power and transformation, this site gives us the opportunity to understand its housing structures, organised into neighbourhoods or blocks and demarcated by dividing walls and defined circulation routes.
