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Below the village of Outeiro the ground drops into a fertile valley through which runs the Ribeira de Piães. Above the valley, the village sits surrounded by olive and fruit trees. Small xisto cottages make up the bulk of the village of Outeiro, arranged along narrow streets that rise steeply. There is vehicle access along the bottom of the village to a cobbled square, where guinea fowls noisily announce the arrival of any visitors! There is also a road that runs above the village up to the festa area and chapel of Nossa Senhora da Rocha. The chapel is now shared between Piães and Outeiro, although it was originally built in the mid-19th century as a private chapel. A local family made a vow that if God granted them their prayers, they would build a chapel in return. They fulfilled their vow, and proceeded to take advantage of the building as a grain store, there being little need of it at the time for religious purposes!
The village was recorded in the 1527 census as having four permanent dwellings. The name of the village at this time was written as ‘Outeyros’. (The name ‘Outeiro’ means ‘hill’). Opposite the village, on the hillside, there are several mines that are said to be Moorish in origin, and we know the area has been worked for minerals since at least the Bronze Age. The valley below Outeiro was found in the mid-20th century to contain minerals deposited by the Ribeira de Piães: the soils of the valley were panned and tin, tungsten and gold were discovered. The villagers used to be employed tending their goats and sheep on the hills above the village. There are still xisto buildings in existence that were used to house the goats. There was also employment in the mines at Liboreiro, and villagers used to work at the brick works at Arganil. |
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| Updated 20 June, 2008 | ||||||||||||