Idanha-a-Velha

Idanha-a-Velha was Igaeditania, a Roman city of some standing with a forum, walls, a bridge and an aqueduct, and it continued as a Visigothic episcopal seat - the chronicles claim Wamba, one of the last Visigothic kings, was born here. The extraordinary thing is what happened next: it never became a town again. What stands today is a village of a few dozen residents living among and inside the ancient fabric, with Roman walls still enclosing it, a Roman bridge over the Ponsul, columns and inscribed stones reused in houses and field boundaries, a Templar tower built on a Roman podium, and the cathedral - a basilica whose core is sixth-century Visigothic, one of the oldest churches in Portugal, and beside it a large collection of Roman inscriptions, once stacked inside the cathedral and now shown in a museum in the old olive press. It is one of the Aldeias Históricas, and it is very quiet.

History

Roman settlement here is recorded from 16 AD, when the town was the capital of the Civitas Igaeditanorum, and under the Suebi and Visigoths it became the bishopric of Egitânia, chosen as a see by the Suebic King Theodemar, who died in 570. Occupied by Muslims in the 8th century and retaken by Christians in the 12th, it was given to the Knights Templar in the 13th century, and tradition makes it the birthplace of the Visigothic king Wamba (Wikipedia, Idanha-a-Velha).

The main sights

• The cathedral - a basilica with a sixth-century Visigothic core, among Portugal's oldest.
• The reused stone - Roman columns and inscriptions built into houses and walls.
• The walls and bridge - Roman fabric still enclosing and serving the village.
• The Templar tower - a medieval tower raised on a Roman podium.

When to go

March to June and September to November; Beira Baixa summers are extremely hot. Two to three hours. Guided visits from the reception centre explain far more than the signage.

Before you go

Very hot and shadeless in summer. The village has almost no services - no shop, limited food. The cathedral's opening depends on the reception centre being staffed. Interpretation without a guide is thin.

Nearby

Monsanto is north; Castelo Branco is south-west.

Key facts