Amarante is one of the prettiest towns in northern Portugal: its houses with wooden and wrought-iron balconies are reflected in the Tâmega river, crossed by an elegant stone bridge below a large convent. It lies about 60 kilometres east of Porto, in the vinho verde region.
São Gonçalo
The town is tied to São Gonçalo, a thirteenth-century Dominican friar who, according to tradition, built the first bridge over the river. The sixteenth-century convent of São Gonçalo has a Renaissance loggia with statues of kings and the tomb of the saint, considered a protector of marriages: those hoping to marry soon touch his statue, now worn smooth by hands. During the June festival, São Gonçalo cakes of distinctly cheeky shape are sold, a legacy of ancient fertility rites. The present eighteenth-century São Gonçalo bridge saw a famous stand against French troops in 1809, who besieged it for two weeks.
Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso
Next to the convent is the Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso Municipal Museum, devoted to the painter born nearby in 1887 who died very young in 1918, one of the great figures of the European avant-garde, a friend of Modigliani and the Delaunays in Paris, who fused Cubism, Futurism and Expressionism. The museum shows some of his works and a collection of Portuguese modern art. Amarante is also the home town of the poet Teixeira de Pascoaes.
Sweets and surroundings
Amarante is famous for its convent sweets, such as papos de anjo, lérias, foguetes and brisas do Tâmega, best enjoyed in the pastry shops near the bridge. The river has beaches and rowing boats. The surrounding countryside is full of vinho verde vineyards and monuments of the Rota do Românico, a route of Romanesque churches and monasteries. Amarante is about 45 minutes from Porto by car (A4) or by bus.