Vila Franca de Xira

Vila Franca de Xira (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvilɐ ˈfɾɐ̃kɐ ðɨ ˈʃiɾɐ] ) is a city and municipality in the Lisbon District in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 137,659,[1] in an area of 318.19 km2.[2]

Vila Franca de Xira
Flag of Vila Franca de Xira
Coat of arms of Vila Franca de Xira
Coordinates: 38°57′N 8°59′W
Country Portugal
RegionLisbon
Metropolitan areaLisbon
DistrictLisbon
Parishes6
Government
  PresidentAlberto Mesquita (PS)
Area
  Total318.19 km2 (122.85 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)
  Total137,659
  Density430/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC±00:00 (WET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+01:00 (WEST)
Local holidayAscension Day
date varies
Websitewww.cm-vfxira.pt

Situated on both banks of the Tagus River, 32 km north-east of the Portuguese capital Lisbon, settlement in the area dates back to neolithic times, as evidenced by findings in the Cave of Pedra Furada. Vila Franca de Xira is said to have been founded by French followers of Portugal's first king, Afonso Henriques, around 1200.

The town is mostly famous for its bull-running festivals in July and October. Bulls are raised in the salty marshlands of the Ribatejo, which is also a notable breeding ground for the Lusitano horse, esteemed for its quick reflexes and maneuverability. A number of brightly coloured Portuguese bullfighting costumes are on display in the ethnographic museum in the town's bullring, the Praça de Toiros (or Touros) Palha Blanco.

Notably, the town was the stage for the eponymous Vilafrancada in May of 1823. The Vilafrancada was an insurrection led by prince Miguel I of Portugal, son of King John VI of Portugal, which sought to reestablish an absolutist monarchy in Portugal. This came in response to the Portuguese Constitution of 1822 - the Kingdom's first constitution - which turned Portugal from an absolutist monarchy to a parlamentarian monarchy. The Vilafrancada can be seen as a prelude to the Portuguese Civil War of 1828-34.

In 1951, the town benefited from the completion of the Marechal Carmona Bridge. Located almost equidistantly between Lisbon and Santarém, The town provided an ideal place for a road bridge. The bridge was the first to cross the Tagus in the Lisbon region,[3] and remained its only crossing until the inauguration of the 25 de Abril Bridge fifteen years later. As a result, Vilafranca experienced greater traffic and commercial opportunities during this period.

Nearby, the town's Misericórdia church features striking 18th-century azulejos (glazed tiles). The town also has a Museum of Neo-Realism.[4]

Three km south of Vila Franca de Xira lies the Lezíria Grande Equestrian Centre, where visitors can watch stylish displays of the impressive Lusitano horses. The centre also stages typical bullfighting spectacles in its outdoor bullring. Visitors can ride Lusitano horses and take dressage lessons at the Quinta de São Sebastião, a sprawling estate at Arruda dos Vinhos, 11 km west of Vila Franca de Xira.

The municipality contains several forts built during the Peninsular War and forming part of the Lines of Torres Vedras. These include the Fort of Subserra on the first line of defence and the Forts of Serra da Aguieira and the Fort of Casa on the second line.

Another place of interest, on the left bank, is the Hermitage of Nossa Senhora de Alcamé, which was built so that farmers on the Tagus floodplain would both have somewhere to pray and also somewhere of safety during floods. An annual pilgrimage is held to the hermitage with participants going by boat from the town of Vila Franca de Xira on the right bank.

The current Mayor is Fernando Paulo Ferreira, elected in 2021 as a member of the Socialist Party.[5]

Climate

Vila Franca de Xira has a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters.

Climate data for Alverca do Ribatejo (air base), Vila Franca de Xira, 1961-1990, altitude: 2 m (6 ft 7 in)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 20.5
(68.9)
22.5
(72.5)
27.0
(80.6)
29.4
(84.9)
36.2
(97.2)
43.5
(110.3)
40.0
(104.0)
39.0
(102.2)
38.8
(101.8)
33.0
(91.4)
26.3
(79.3)
22.2
(72.0)
43.5
(110.3)
Average high °C (°F) 14.6
(58.3)
15.6
(60.1)
17.8
(64.0)
19.3
(66.7)
22.0
(71.6)
25.9
(78.6)
28.8
(83.8)
29.0
(84.2)
27.9
(82.2)
22.9
(73.2)
18.1
(64.6)
15.4
(59.7)
21.4
(70.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 10.6
(51.1)
11.7
(53.1)
13.2
(55.8)
14.8
(58.6)
17.1
(62.8)
20.4
(68.7)
22.9
(73.2)
23.1
(73.6)
22.1
(71.8)
18.3
(64.9)
14.1
(57.4)
11.8
(53.2)
16.7
(62.0)
Average low °C (°F) 6.6
(43.9)
7.8
(46.0)
8.6
(47.5)
10.3
(50.5)
12.2
(54.0)
14.9
(58.8)
17.0
(62.6)
17.2
(63.0)
16.3
(61.3)
13.7
(56.7)
10.1
(50.2)
8.2
(46.8)
11.9
(53.4)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 93.0
(3.66)
104.5
(4.11)
43.6
(1.72)
57.1
(2.25)
41.9
(1.65)
20.5
(0.81)
5.2
(0.20)
8.0
(0.31)
18.4
(0.72)
70.4
(2.77)
73.8
(2.91)
109.4
(4.31)
645.8
(25.42)
Source: Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera[6]

Demographics

Vila Franca de Xira Municipality (1801–2011)
1801 1849 1900 1930 1960 1981 1991 2001 2011 2021
3 839 5 202 15 766 24 053 40 594 88 193 103 571 122 908 136 886 137 659
Map of the municipality showing the individual parishes

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 6 civil parishes (freguesias):[7]

Notable people

Afonso de Albuquerque

Sport

Helena Costa, 2012

References

  1. "Resultados Preliminares Censos 2021 INE". INE. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  2. "Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país". Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  3. "Ponte de Vila Franca de Xira celebra hoje 55 anos". publico.pt (in Portuguese). 30 December 2006. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  4. Museu do Neo-Realismo Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  5. O Mirante (local weekly paper)
  6. "Plano Municipal de Defesa da Floresta Contra Incêndios" (PDF). Vila Franca de Xira Municipality. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  7. Diário da República. "Law nr. 11-A/2013, page 552 131" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  8. "Albuquerque, Alphonso d'" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 01 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 516.
  9. Alves Redol, IMDb Database retrieved 05 July 2021.
  10. Lili Caneças, IMDb Database retrieved 05 July 2021.
  11. Nuria Madruga, IMDb Database retrieved 05 July 2021.
  12. Leonor Teles, IMDb Database retrieved 05 July 2021.
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