Category: Civil Architecture > Museum
District: Braga > Esposende > Vila Chã > Outeiro
The São Lourenço Interpretive Center is located in the town of Vila Chã, in Esposende, in the area known as Outeiro. Its elevated position offers a unique perspective on the surrounding landscape, a setting that has witnessed centuries of human presence.
This space was conceived to showcase the rich history and heritage of the region, with a particular focus on the millennia-old occupation of Monte de São Lourenço. Through the archaeological remains discovered on site, the Center offers visitors a journey through time, revealing how communities settled and developed in this territory.
Its primary mission is to value the cultural heritage, tangible and intangible, of the municipality of Esposende, ensuring that knowledge of the past is accessible to everyone and that the memory of the generations who lived here remains alive.
Inside the Center, visitors can explore areas dedicated to the exhibition of archaeological finds. These carefully presented objects help reconstruct the daily life and experiences of ancient populations. It is also possible to access audiovisual content that enriches the understanding of local history.
One of the most prominent elements in the exhibition is a unique necklace, composed of twenty-seven beads made of glass paste and gold foil, known as "gold-in-glass". This piece, discovered in the floor of one of the settlement buildings interpreted by the Center, is a testament to the sophistication and commercial links that existed. As a luxury adornment, it suggests the presence of individuals of high social and economic status in the region during the early Roman period.
The São Lourenço Interpretive Center assumes the role of guardian and interpreter of the history of Monte de São Lourenço. This unique site witnessed human presence since the Chalcolithic, approximately in the third millennium BC, with continuous occupations from the 5th century BC to the 5th and 6th centuries AD, and a significant reoccupation in the Middle Ages.
The exhibition space is essential for unraveling and sharing the geostrategic and economic importance of this mount throughout different eras, through the analysis of objects and structures that still exist today. It is here that the complexity and depth of the history of a community that developed over millennia unfolds.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 41.5569524,-8.7609797
Coordinates DMS: 41°33'25.0"N 08°45'39.5"W
Weather Vila Chã
On-duty Pharmacy Vila Chã
