PROENÇA-A-VELHA
N 40.02493º; W 7.24022º
Proença-a-Velha is a Portuguese parish in the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova, in the province of Beira Baixa, Centro region (Beiras Region) and sub-region of Beira Interior Sul, with an area of 58 km² and 190 inhabitants ( 2021 census). Its population density is 3.3 inhabitants/km².It was a town and county seat between 1218 and 1836. The county was made up of the parishes of the headquarters and Aldeia de Santa Margarida until the administrative reform of 1835 and São Miguel de Acha until 1752. It had, in 1801, 934 inhabitants.
Proença designates several parishes in Portugal and, written as Provença, also refers to Provence (medieval designation for a region in France). Therefore, an Occitan origin of the populations that created these villages is assumed, at the time of the Christian reconquest of the region.
With 1490 inhabitants in 1920, the population decreased to 1229 inhabitants ten years later, recovering to 1481 in 1950. Since then there has been a continued decrease, decade after decade, with the migration of the population mainly to the greater Lisbon region and to the France and Germany.
Patrimony
Religious Heritage
Main Church of Proença-a-Velha
Church of Misericórdia of Proença-a-Velha
Chapel of the Lord of Calvary
Chapel of Saint Anthony
Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Granja (about 3 km from the village)
Civil Heritage
Pillory of Proença-a-Velha
Cruise
Olive Oil Museum Center or Lagares de Proença-a-Velha.
São Sebastião Garden - Located at the southwest entrance of the parish, close to the São Sebastião fountain, which is located on the site of the old chapel of the same name. In the garden there is a granite monument representing Saint Sebastian.
