São Félix Hill or Mount São Félix, Monte de São Félix in Portuguese, is the highest hill in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal, as measured by the height above sea level of its summit, 202 metres (663 ft).
São Félix is the north of the two hills east of the city, the other being Cividade Hill. São Félix is located in the civil parish of Laundos, and is a sequence of Serra de Rates mountain range. In the Middle Ages the hill was known as Lanudos, hence the name of the civil parish.
Despite its low height, São Félix is easily distinguished in the landscape because it is a significant rise in front of a coastal plain. Alto River's source is located in São Félix Hill and ends at Rio Alto Beach in Estela.
Contents |
It is believe that Saint Félix used to live in this hill, thus its current name. In a local myth, that became important for Christianity in the Iberian Peninsula, Félix is thought to have found the body of the first bishop of the Iberian Peninsula, Saint Peter of Rates, in the hilltop while seeing a light every evening. This myth was used by Braga clergy in order to justify that city's religious leading role in Christian Iberian Peninsula.
There's chapels of São Félix, in the hilltop, Senhora da Saúde in the hill foot and Senhora da Saúde Shrine. The hill is of ancient cult, and it is linked with the major procession of Póvoa de Varzim, specially important for the fisher community, that goes a 7km long way from the Matriz Church of Póvoa de Varzim to Senhora da Saúde Shrine. In the latest pilgrim measures. in 2009 gathered 30,000 pilgrins[1] and over 40,000 in 2010.[2]
The hill has ruins of a small castro settlement of around the 2nd century B.C known as Castro de Laundos, that could have been an outpost of Cividade de Terroso. A vase with jewels inside, used in a Castro culture death ritual, was found in 1904 this is one of the most important jewelry artifacts found in Northwest Iberian Peninsula.
The hill has a panoramic view over the city, its rural area, and beaches; mills (some converted into holiday houses), and the Cividade Hill. The Rates Shooting Camp is located is located nearby. The São Félix Stairs is used to reach the hilltop and can be a defy to some, although one can also reach the top throw a small road.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||