From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Municipality in Centro, Portugal
Constancia
(
Portuguese pronunciation:
[ko??t??si?]
ⓘ
) is a municipality in
Santarem District
in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 4,056,
[1]
in an area of 80.37 km².
[2]
Constancia is a riverside village born from the green meeting of the Zezere river with the Tagus river. Formerly known as "Antiga Punhete", a name derived from the Roman name "tagi pugna" [fight of the Tagus) due to the rebelliousness of the waters at the meeting of the rivers. Queen Maria II changed its name to Constancia in 1836, due to the "constancy that its inhabitants had shown in support of the liberal cause. Conquered from the Moors in 1150, it was given the status of 'town' in 1571 through a charter from King Se- bastian. Renowned Portuguese poet Luis de Camoes lived here between 1548 and 1550, on the occasion of the exile caused by his love for D. Catarina de Ataide, maid of honour of Queen Catherine of Portugal. In 1809, the English army met in Constancia before marching on Spain, on their way to the Battle of Talavera, where Wellington defeated the French. Constancia suffered greatly during the French invasions. It was later re- stored and, to this day, much of its beautiful landscape, architecture and archaeological treasures. This beautiful town has many interesting monuments, including the Nossa Senhora dos Martires Church, the Pillory, the Misericordia Church, the Casa Memoria de Camoes, the Clock Tower and the Chapel of Sant'Ana to name just a few.
The present mayor is Antonio Manuel dos Santos Mendes, elected by the
Unitary Democratic Coalition
. The municipal holiday is
Easter Monday
.
Parishes
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Administratively, the municipality is divided into 3 civil parishes (
freguesias
):
[3]
Notable people
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References
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External links
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