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Monsanto can be seen on the side of a great steep skid, called the Pillory of Monsanto (Mons Sanctus). It is located northeast of Guarda and suddenly breaks out of the field. At the highest point, its peak reaches 100 meters. The human presence in this place dates back to the era of Dom Afonso Henriques. Archeology tells us that the place was inhabited by barbarians, at the foot of the mountain. There are also traces of the Visigoth and Arabic passage. The Moors would be defeated by Dom Afonso Henriques. In 1165, Monsanto's place was donated to the king of Portugal, who, under the guidance of Gualdim Pais, ordered the construction of Monsanto Castle. The charter was first granted in 1174 by the King of Portugal and rectified, successively, by Dom Sancho I (in 1190) and Dom Afonso II (in 1217). "The castle of robust construction, was ordered to be built by D. Gualdim Paes de Marecos, Grand Master of the Templars in 1239" It was Dom Sancho I who repopulated and rebuilt the fortress that, meanwhile, was destroyed in the struggles against the Kingdom of Leão. again repaired, a century later, by the Knights Templar. In 1308, King Dom Dinis gave Carta de Feira. In 1510, King Dom Manuel I would again hand over the charter and grant the village the status of a village. In the middle of the 17th century, Luis de Haro y Guzmán (Minister of Philip IV of Spain), tried to surround Monsanto, but without success. In the 18th century, the Duke of Berwick also surrounds Monsanto, but the Portuguese army, commanded by the Marquis of Minas, defeats the invader in the difficult escarpments that rise up to the castle. Monsanto was the county seat in the period 1758-1853. In 1815 a serious accident, caused by lightning, destroyed its medieval castle, by the explosion of the ammunition magazine. In 1938, he won the title of "Most Portuguese Village in Portugal", displaying the Galo de Prata, a trophy designed by Abel Pereira da Silva, whose replica remains today at the top of Torre do Relógio or Lucano. A little everywhere, replicas of the Galo de Prata were placed, either in churches, towers or other monuments across the country.
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Europe is generally agreed to be the birthplace of western culture, including such legendary innovations as the democratic nation-state, football and tomato sauce.The word Europe comes from the Greek goddess Europa, who was kidnapped by Zeus and plunked down on the island of Crete. Europa gradually changed from referring to mainland Greece until it extended finally to include Norway and Russia.Don't be confused that Europe is called a continent without looking like an island, the way the other continents do. It's okay. The Ural mountains have steadily been there to divide Europe from Asia for the last 250 million years. Russia technically inhabits "Eurasia".Europe is presently uniting into one political and economic zone with a common currency called the Euro. The European Union originated in 1993 and is now composed of 27 member states. Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.Do not confuse the EU with the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states and dates to 1949. These two bodies share the same flag, national anthem, and mission of integrating Europe. The headquarters of the Council are located in Strasbourg, France, and it is most famous for its European Court of Human Rights. In spite of these two bodies, there is still no single Constitution or set of laws applying to all the countries of Europe. Debate rages over the role of the EU in regards to national sovereignty. As of January 2009, the Lisbon Treaty is the closest thing to a European Constitution, yet it has not been approved by all the EU states. Text by Steve Smith.
