Casa de Juste Lousada, Minho, Douro & Nordportugal, Portugal

Places

Celorico de Basto
Standing close to the River Tâmega, this town was of great importance in the medieval period, as it was here that the most strategic points for the region's defense were to be found - the castles of Celorico de Basto and Arnóias.
In more recent times (from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries), Celorico de Basto was much sought after by noble families who built their manor houses here and left their imprint on the region's landscape.

Mondim de Basto
Situated close to the River Tâmega, Mondim de Basto was founded in the twelfth century in the reign of D. Sancho I and it still retains many traces of its occupation over the years by the various peoples that passed through here.
Overlooking the town is the Monte Farinha, whose pyramidal shape is reminiscent of a volcano. This mountain rises abruptly to a peak with an altitude of 990 metres, and on its top stands the hermitage of Senhora da Graça, a chapel which is the setting for a popular religious festival held in July.
In the surrounding area, close to the village of Ermelo are the waterfalls of the River Olo, known locally as the \"Ermelo Catapult\", which are well worth a visit.

Cabeceiras de Basto
The town is situated in a region known as the lands of \"Basto\", its name being linked to the legendary Lusitanian warrior, \"Basto\", who fought so bravely against the Moorish invaders and was later depicted in a series of granite statues. Such statues were made from what were originally warriors´ tombstones dating back to the period before the Roman occupation (first century BC) and one of them has been placed on a pedestal at the entrance to Cabeceiras de Basto.
The region's development was greatly influenced by the monastery of São Miguel de Refojos, which was founded some time before the 12th century, and the town was also once known as Refojos do Basto.
The surrounding countryside is extremely beautiful, with clear streams and luxuriant green hills. Particularly impressive is the Parque de Moinhos do Rei, which includes the communal windmills of Abadim, commissioned in the fourteenth century by D. Dinis, the king of Portugal.

Medieval routes of the Douro:
Nossa Senhora da Natividade de Escamarão, Gothic-Romanesque church in Cinfães
Sta Maria Maior de Tarouquela romanesque church in Cinfães
Nossa Senhora de Cárquere Romanesque Church in Resende
S. Martinho dos Mouros Church
Museum of Lamego
Lamego Cathedral