Discover Águas Santas: Park, Pilgrimage Route and Architectural Heritage

Águas Santas offers several reasons to visit: a four-hectare park, a marked Way of St James route, a history of pilgrimage and distinctive architectural styles. If you are looking for a hotel, you can plan your stay around the aspect that interests you most—landscape, religious history or architecture.

Recreation and varied landscapes

Parque Urbano de Moutidos is a four-hectare park for recreation and leisure in the parish of Águas Santas. It is divided into a floodplain area, a steeper area, a woodland area and a meadow area. The four sections each have a different character: the floodplain and meadow areas sit alongside woodland and steeper terrain. If you would like to include some time outdoors in your trip, the park offers a specific place to do so.

The Way of St James and its historical connection

Caminho Português Central por Braga is one of three established and marked Way of St James routes in Maia and passes through Águas Santas. This gives pilgrims a specific route to follow. Its history goes back to the ancient Via Romana XIV, along which the Caminho ran; the Via Romana connected Lisbon, Santarém, Coimbra, Porto, Maia and Braga. Two scales are therefore worth distinguishing: the pilgrimage route through Águas Santas and the ancient connection between the cities named above.

Churches and the history of pilgrimage

Igreja Românica de Águas Santas, also known as Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Ó, is located in Lugar do Mosteiro in Águas Santas, Maia. The pilgrimage connection of Capela de Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe is different: it once included a shelter and retreat building for pilgrims, as well as the hermit's dwelling, which still exists today. The frescoes depicting scenes from the life of Christ are considered one reason to visit. The chapel thus brings together two distinct aspects: architectural provision for pilgrims and Christian imagery.

Architectural heritage and cultural activities

Quinta da Caverneira can be classified as a so-called “casa de brasileiro”, a building style typical of Terra da Maia. The building has a central tower topped with battlements and roof forms shaped by Alpine influences. It therefore combines a regionally characteristic building type with Alpine influences in its roofs. Since 2009, an agreement between the Câmara Municipal and the theatre company Teatro Art’Imagem has aimed to establish a regular performing arts programme at Quinta da Caverneira, as well as regular theatre education activities for children, young people and seniors.

At Moinho de Terramonte, the vertical mill wheel powered by the stream's water was probably used to operate the mill. This cautious description of its likely function makes the mill another point of interest for travellers interested in buildings and how they were used.

For the broader travel overview: Maia.