Argoncilhe

- Igreja Matriz de São Martinho (Parish Church of São Martinho), in the centre, seat of the parish since the 17th century<p>- Capela de Nossa Senhora das Neves, built in 1581 by the Augustinian canons of Grijó<p>- Capela de Santo António, in Ribeira da Venda, dating from 1715<p>- Igreja de Cristo Rei, in Vergada, from the second half of the 20th century<p>- Roman bridge and paved road at Roçadas

Argoncilhe lies at the northern tip of the municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, just a few kilometres from Porto, among places such as Vergada, Aldriz and São Domingos. It appears in documents as far back as 1086 and, from 1093 onwards, was linked for centuries to the Mosteiro de Grijó. From farming it moved on to workshops and small industry, without losing its ancient chapels or the Roman bridge at Roçadas.

At the northernmost tip of the municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, just a few kilometres from Porto, Argoncilhe preserves in its very name a long written memory. Medieval documents record it as Dragunceli in 1086, Draguncelli in 1091, and Dragoncelli in the years that followed, until 1320, when a Latin form already refers to the church of São Martinho de Argoncilhi. Two hypotheses have been put forward for the origin of the name: one links it to a Latin diminutive meaning 'little arch'; the other sees in it the name of a former landowner, Dragoncellus.<p>Human presence in these lands predates the documents by far. Place names and archaeological finds point to pre-Roman and Roman occupation, particularly in Aldriz, at the site known as Crasto. The oldest written document, from 1086, records the donation of properties from the 'villa de Eldriz' to the Igreja de São Martinho (Church of São Martinho), and a few years later, in 1091, a partition of lands was made near the hill of Pena, today's Outeiro da Pena. In 1093, the church of Argoncilhe was among the livings granted to the Mosteiro de Grijó (Monastery of Grijó), and the connection to the Augustinian canons lasted for centuries, until 1686.<p>For generations, farming sustained local families. The twentieth century brought woodworking and metalworking workshops, and from the 1930s onwards small industries emerged, most notably the manufacture of nails for cooperage. The wolfram years, between 1939 and 1945, brought activity and commerce, and later many of the parish's sons and daughters emigrated to Venezuela, Brazil, France, and Germany.<p>The religious heritage tells the story of the parish. The first parish was established in the early Middle Ages near the Capela da Senhora do Campo (Chapel of Senhora do Campo), and the Igreja Matriz de São Martinho, in the centre, has served the parish since the seventeenth century. In São Domingos, the Augustinian canons of Grijó built the Capela de Nossa Senhora das Neves (Chapel of Nossa Senhora das Neves) in 1581, and the Capela de Santo António has stood in Ribeira da Venda since 1715. There is also the Capela de São Pedro, with its lake, the Capela de São Tomé, with its bell tower, and, in Vergada, the Igreja de Cristo Rei (Church of Cristo Rei), dating from the second half of the twentieth century. From the more distant past there remain a Roman bridge and a Roman road at Roçadas, the Cruzeiro Milenar, and the old watermills.<p>Marian devotion shapes the life of the parish. Between 1943 and 1970, apparitions of Our Lady were attributed on the 25th of each month to a milkwoman known as D. Guilhermina; the Capela de Nossa Senhora das Graças e da Vitória (Chapel of Nossa Senhora das Graças e da Vitória) was built on the site, and the monthly pilgrimage on the 25th continues to this day. Associative life is part of Argoncilhe's identity: the Grupo Musical Estrela de Argoncilhe, the Rancho Regional, the Liga de Melhoramentos de Vergada, and the Associação Desportiva de Argoncilhe, founded in 1979, all bring the people of the parish together.