Santo Tirso: Travel and tourism

Santo Tirso grew around the former monastery of São Bento, founded by the Benedictines in the 8th century, later rebuilt and then modified in the 17th century.

The monastery is now an agricultural college and also lodges de Abade Pedrosa Museum, exhibiting local archaeological findings such as stone axes and ceramics.

Santo Tirso lies beside the river Ave and the bucolic charm of its river banks, woods and gardens, characterized by a generous vegetation, still remains but is somewhat deceiving, as it is also nowadays a major textile centre.

There are spots of true idyllic tranquillity, such as the zone which surrounds the bridge of Lagoncinha, a remarkable specimen of Medieval architecture on the county limits, where the only sound is that of the waters of the Ave falling from the weirs.

At about 13 kilometres from Santo Tirso, Roriz displays the Romanesque church of Saint Peter: the date of 1228 is carved in the porch, although some believe that a church stood there earlier, and it has a fine rose window over the portal. The belltower and ruins of a monastic cloister are also worth admiring.

The predominant agricultural characteristics of the county (corn, wine and cattle breeding), together with the strong density of population, visible in the great number of typical villages, and the deeply ingrained religious traditions make it extremely rich in etnographical terms.

The religious festivals and popular festivities are an important part of the local population's life, and traditional songs, dances, legends and religious practices have coexisted with the rapid industrialization in a particularly interesting way.