Have you ever wondered how old a place of worship can be? Let me tell you about the Capela da Venda Nova here in Pedroso. It is a part of Vila Nova de Gaia.
Pedroso is an ancient place. Archaeological finds show that this area has been inhabited for a long time. The Mamoa da Raposa dates back to the Neo-Chalcolithic period. It was discovered in 1984. The Castro da Senhora da Saúde began as a settlement in the Iron Age. People lived there at least until the Roman period.
Pedroso’s name comes from the Castro do Monte Murado which was called Castro Petrosus. This settlement dates back to 7 AD. The Turduli Veteres people lived here. They used the road that connected Olissipo which is Lisbon to Bracara Augusta which is Braga. Bronze plaques called Tesserae Hospitales were found here. They date from 7 and 9 AD. These are some of the most important archaeological finds of that decade.
These plaques show two hospitality pacts. One was between Decimus Iulius Cilo of the Galeria tribe and several indigenous people of the Turduli Veteres. In 1983 an archaeological dig found the cella that is a room of Decimus Iulius Cilo’s Roman house. The bronze plaques were attached to a wall near a fireplace.
The fortified settlement still has walls from houses. These houses are surrounded by several lines of walls. Their perimeter is over 3 km. Some paved streets can also be seen. Artifacts found here are now in the Marciano Azuaga collection. It is housed in the Casa de Cultura de Vila Nova de Gaia which is the Solar dos Condes Resende. A large area was classified as a Public Interest Property in 1992. Pedroso is an important archaeological site in Portugal. The plaques are the oldest written records about Pedroso. They prove its history goes back long before Portugal was a nation.
Pedroso received its charter from D. Afonso Henriques in 1128. The Mosteiro de Pedroso was a monastery for men of the Order of São Bento. It is thought that D. Gondezinho donated it. Frei Luís de S. Tomás believed it was founded in 867. However another document from 1046 casts doubt on this date. In this document Trastina Pinioliz and her husband Ederónio Alvitiz say that they founded a monastery in Pedroso. The old Couto de Pedroso was a privileged territory controlled by the clergy.
Frei Pedro Julião was once the abbot of this monastery. Later he became Pope John XXI. The monastery resisted adopting the Rule of São Bento. It also resisted the observances of Cluny. Eventually it accepted them around 1115-1120. In 1547 the monastery owned a third of the patronage of the church in Milheirós de Poiares. From the early 15th century to 1560 it was governed by commendatory abbots. The last one was Cardinal D. Henrique. He annexed the monastery’s income to the Colégio de Jesus of Coimbra. The Benedictine community remained until the last monk died. Until 1773 the Colégio de Jesus de Coimbra had religious officials at the monastery. They managed the income and provided parish services until the college was dissolved that year. The assets were then given to the Fazenda da Universidade de Coimbra.
The Mosteiro de Pedroso was originally built in the Romanesque style. Over the years it was changed. It lost much of its original design. Only the side facade with a coat of arms and the baptismal font inside remain from the original building. The medieval tower attached to the facade is still intact. It was classified as a Monument of Public Interest in 2014.
The area influenced by the Mosteiro de Pedroso included 37 parishes. These stretched from Vila Nova de Gaia to Santa Maria da Feira. This included the Aveiro area, the Vouga area, the Lafões region and the parish of Santa Eulália de Vila Maior. All types of economic activities took place in the Couto area at that time. Besides land the monastery also owned 11 churches.
So, while we may not know the exact date of the Capela da Venda Nova it stands as a testament to the rich history of Pedroso. It is a part of a community with roots stretching back thousands of years.