Travel in Portugal, Day 5, Avis to Flor da Rosa

posted in: Home, Portugal | 0

We should have lingered, found a café or dining room, but I am restless and so we left Avis on quiet roads to Ponte de Sor.

Between Avis and Ponte de Sor
Between Avis and Ponte de Sor
Sheep under the cork oaks
Sheep under the cork oaks

Galveias is a small settlement between Avis and Ponte de Sor, founded under the protection of the Order of Avis in the 14C. We visited the Church (closed) on top of the hill and found this extraordinary house, but there was no obvious reason to linger, and we drove on to Ponte de Sor for my daily Pasteis de Nata! (I have subsequently found there were Counts of Galveias – perhaps this house belonged to the nobility?)

Suitably fortified, I needed to see the Roman bridge of Vila Formosa over the River Seda, between Ponte de Sor and Alter do Chao. It carried the Roman road linking the cities of Lisbon and Mérida, Spain, and was built c.85 AD, the only bridge until 2010!

The new bridge over the River Seda
The new bridge over the River Seda
The Seda River
The Seda River
The Roman Bridge over the Seda River
The Roman Bridge over the Seda River
The road over the Roman Bridge, Vila Formosa
The road over the Roman Bridge, Vila Formosa

And so back to Flor da Rosa.

You may be interested in Following Hadrian Roman Routeplanner

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