Colares () is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

along the coast of the municipality of

Sintra Sintra (, ), officially the Town of Sintra (), is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 385,654, in an area of . Sintra is one of the ...

. The population in 2011 was 7,628,Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE)
Census 2011 results according to the 2013 administrative division of Portugal in an area of .

History

Even before there was a "Portugal", the region of Colares was a place of human movement and settlement. By the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, the architecture of Colares was carved by Latin inscriptions, such as one found near the mouth of the Maçãs River: ''SOLI ET LUNAE CESTIVIUS ACIDIVIS PERENNIS LEG. AVG. PR. PR. PROVINCIAE LUSITANAE''. It was conquered and held by

Sigurd I of Norway Sigurd the Crusader (; ; 1089 – 26 March 1130), also known as Sigurd Magnusson and Sigurd I, was King of Norway from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his half-brother Eystein I of Norway, Øystein (until Øystein died in 1123), has been ...

for a few months in 1108, during the

Norwegian Crusade The Norwegian Crusade, led by Norwegian King Sigurd I, was a crusade or a pilgrimage (sources differ) that lasted from 1107 to 1111, in the aftermath of the First Crusade. The Norwegian Crusade marks the first time a European king person ...

. After a period of Moorish occupation, armies loyal to Afonso Henriques conquered the region, as a sequence of their victory in Sintra, around 1147. The region remained in the hands of the Crown until 1385, when it was donated by

John I John I may refer to: People Religious figures * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John I of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope from 496 to 505 * Pope John I, P ...

to the ''constable''

Nuno Álvares Pereira '' Dom'' Nuno Álvares Pereira, OCarm (; 24 June 1360 – 1 November 1431) was a very successful Portuguese general who had a decisive role in the 1383–1385 Crisis that assured Portugal's independence from Castile. He later became a my ...

to compensate the mercenary for his support against Castile. These lands returned to the crown following the death of Infanta

Beatrice Beatrice may refer to: * Beatrice (given name) Places In the United States * Beatrice, Alabama, a town * Beatrice, Humboldt County, California, a locality * Beatrice, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Beatrice, Indiana, an unincorporated ...

, mother of

Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: *Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned ov ...

. The historical village of Colares, which was important in the nation's pre-history, obtained a

foral 200px, Foral of Castro Verde - Portugal The ''Carta de Foral'', or simply ''Foral'', was a royal document in Portugal and its former empire, whose purpose was to establish a ''concelho'' (Council) and regulate its administration, borders and priv ...

early after its creation. The parish of ''Nossa Senhora da Assunção'' was a bishopric rectory in the old

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

of Torres Vedras, and Colares was the seat of its own municipality, attributed to King

Afonso III Alfonso III (Spanish) or Afonso III (Portuguese) may refer to: *Alfonso III of Asturias (866–910), surnamed "the Great" *Afonso III of Portugal (1210–1279) *Alfonso III of Aragon (1285–1291) *Alfonso III d'Este, Duke of Modena Alfonso III ...

, in May 1255. A new foral was issued on 10 November 1516 by Manuel I. In 1801, the municipality of Colares included 1930 inhabitants, and by 1849, it already had 3341 inhabitants. During the administrative reforms of 24 October 1855, the municipality of Colares was extinguished and the territory integrated into the municipality of Sintra, as a civil parish. Grapevines are grown directly upon the sand in the

Colares DOC Colares is a Portuguese wine region centred on the Colares (Sintra), Colares parish in the Concelho, municipality of Sintra. The region has Portugal's highest wine classification of ''Denominação de Origem Controlada'' (DOC). Located along the so ...

, which covers 50 acres of remaining vineyards. In the 1940s, vineyards covered 2,500 acres. Between 1934 and 1994, only the local co-op could use the Colares appellation. Red wines, which make up 75% of platings, are grown from ramisco grape and are aged over ten years before being marketed. White wines, grown from a local variant of

malvasia Malvasia (), also known as Malvazia, is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region and Macaronesia, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. In the past, the names Malvasia, Malvazia, ...

, are not aged as long. Because

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...

aphids cannot live on sand, Colares vineyards are some of the only European vines that are not grafted upon American rootstocks.

Geography

The civil parish is located on the western coast of Portugal, and marked by Europe's extreme western extent:

Cabo da Roca Cabo da Roca () or Cape Roca is a cape which forms the westernmost point of the Sintra Mountain Range, of mainland Portugal, of continental Europe, and of the Eurasian landmass. It is situated in the municipality of Sintra, near Azóia, in t ...

. Its contains the settlements

Almoçageme Almoçageme (pronounced: Al-mu-sa-jè-mê) is a village on the Portuguese municipality of Sintra and in the Freguesia of Colares. The name Almoçageme is obviously Arab in origin – the Iberian peninsula is packed with Muslim toponyms that are ...

, Atalaia,

Azenhas do Mar Azenhas do Mar () is a seaside town (residential neighborhood) in the municipality of Sintra, Portugal. It is part of Colares civil parish. Azenhas do Mar means ''Watermills of the Sea'' and the name derives from a once-powerful stream that moved ...

, Azóia, Colares, Eugaria, Gigarós, Mucifal, Penedo, Praia das Maçãs and Ulgueira.

Climate

Architecture

Prehistoric

* Dolmen of Adrenunes () *

Praia das Maçãs Prehistoric Monument Praia (, Portuguese for "beach") is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde.Archaeological Site of Alto da Vigia () *

Roman villa of Santo André de Almoçageme The Roman ruins of Santo Andre de Almoçageme () is a Portuguese archaeological site located in the rural civil parish of Colares, in the municipality of Sintra. It includes a group of structures with typological, stylistic or historic value, who ...

() * Tholos tomb of Bela Vista () * Tholos tomb of Monge ()

Civic

* Building of Correios, Telégrafos e Telefones (CTT) de Colares * Vila Vitorino * Cinema/Theatre Gomes da Silva () * Cellar of the Viscount Salreu () * Estate of Quinta do Casas Novas * Estate of Quinta da Fonte * Estate of Quinta da Fonte Velha * Estate of Quinta de Vale Marinha * Estate of Quinta do Pé da Serra * Estate of Quinta do Rio Milho * Estate of Quinta dos Freixes * Estate of Quinta Mazziotti/Quinta do França * Estate of Quinta Milides * Estate of Nossa Senhora de Melides * Fountain of Espoujeiro () * Lighthouse of Cabo da Roca () * Pillory of Colares () * Primary School of Azenhas do Mar () * Residence of Quinta da Bela Vista () * Residence of Quinta do Cosme () * Residence of Quinta do Vinagre () * Residence (Pombaline) on ''Largo do Pelourinho'' () * Residence (17th century) on ''Largo do Pelourinho'' () * Residence on ''Avenida do Atlântico, 180'' () * Residence on ''Rua da Abreja'' () * Residence on ''Rua da República'' () * Residence Saloia () * Summer cottage of Praia das Maçãs () * Villa Guida * (Old) Casino of Praia das Maçãs ()

Military

* Castle of Colares ()

Religious

* Chapel of the Misericórdia of Colares () * Chapel of Nossa Senhora das Mercês () * Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Praia () * Chapel of São Lourenço () * Church of Almoçageme () * Church of Nossa Senhora da Assunção () * Convent of Santa Ana () * Convent of Santa Cruz () * Convent of São Saturino () * Hermitage of Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Ulgueira () * Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora da Peninha ()

References

{{Authority control Parishes of Sintra Former municipalities of Portugal