Attractions and Places To See around Silva Escura - Top 20

A monument in honor of the war heroes. At the top of the 42m high column, a lion, representing the victorious Portuguese, sits enthroned above a bird recognizable only by its wings. This defeated eagle represents the French defeated under Napoleon.

The very well-known German comedian Hape (Hans-Peter) Kerkeling embarked on the Camino de Santiago through Spain in 2001, keeping a diary that was later published as a book. In the 'Real Monasterio San Zoilo', he notes an observation that I would also like to offer the viewer of this sacred small monument: „Directly above it hangs the huge crucifix, and for the first time, I consciously notice that the crucified one is clearly looking in one direction: From our perspective, Jesus Christ looks to the left in most depictions. To the west. Towards the sunset, the night, death. But from his perspective, he is looking to the right, to the east. Towards the sunrise and life. What appears to us as a dark end is, in truth, the radiant beginning for him. And undoubtedly, only his perception can be considered the correct one.“ (Hape Kerkeling in „Ich bin dann mal weg. Meine Reise auf dem Jakobsweg“)

The cross at Padrão da Légua marked the separation of the roads, one headed towards Viana do Castelo and Barcelos, and the other, the old one, headed towards Vila do Conde after crossing the Leça River on the D. Goimil Bridge.

The cross, a place of worship, displays a sculpted image of the Crucified Christ, dating from the 17th century, with the symbolic function of sacralizing the “Way”.

Lots of building work at the moment not the best time to visit

Large and beautiful square with benches, sea lions and cars around.

Based on the classic concept of the Arc de Triomphe in three volumes, it nevertheless reflects the simplicity and rectitude of the people of Maia when it uses smooth planes and rectilinear shapes. The side volumes, contrary to what is normal, have openings in a different direction from the central volume, which evokes a pluralism of visions and perspectives that has always been the prerogative of the Maiatos, as well as a unified vision of development, regardless of the cardinal point of the Maia territory. The raw materials also evoke two of its basic characteristics: bronze, which recalls religiosity, but also strength, tenacity and resistance, the paradigm of which is that of church bells; gold recalls the nobility of the Maiatos, but also the dominant colour of the corn cobs, a source of food and the wealth of this fertile land. The three volumes correspond to three fundamental pillars of the Maiata idiosyncrasy: religiosity, work and rural popular culture. The insertion of volumes with rectilinear shapes in a circular space such as the roundabout evokes the foreseen and planned rupture that Maia has experienced since the 1970s, which led to the municipality, from a very modest plan, becoming one of the five most important municipalities in the country, ceasing to be a rural municipality to become truly urban, without however losing the positive aspects of rurality: work, honesty, spirit of sacrifice, volunteerism, love for the land. These characteristics were the reason for the triumph of the people of Maia. A triumph that is embodied and embodied in some immortal winners, such as Lidador, Viscount Barreiros and Doctor José Vieira de Carvalho, as will be in the future all those who are capable, today, of learning from these examples and of building the future based on the foundations of the work and example of these builders of Maia. It celebrates the selfless effort of our People in the construction of our Land, and expresses the triumph of their work, which is clearly evident in the development that the municipality is experiencing.

This unique equestrian statue was created by the sculptor Lima de Carvalho and was inaugurated on July 9, 1984, as a tribute to the knight Gonçalo Mendes da Maia, one of the glorious soldiers who fought alongside D. Afonso Henriques for the independence and territorial expansion of Portugal. A hero of the Foundation of the Nationality, the first King of Portugal named him his Adeantado (leader of the troops). The nickname “O Lidador” is due to the many victories he achieved in battles against the Moors. Born in 1079, in his youth he was a turbulent and passionate nobleman, and died at the age of 90, fighting the Moors in the Battle of Ourique.