The Via Cossourado, in Paredes de Coura, now offers a digital guide that reveals the history, heritage and identity of a territory marked by the passage of walkers over centuries. The platform, accessible through the website viacossourado.pt, is aimed particularly at pilgrims traveling the Portuguese Way of Santiago.
The route follows a path with millennia-old roots, associated with the ancient Roman Military Way IV, which connected Bracara Augusta, now Braga, to Asturica Augusta, in Spain. Along the way, interpretive panels have been installed that allow visitors to learn more about the places crossed and the history of a territory where Romans, medieval pilgrims and walkers from different geographies passed through.
Among the main points of interest are the Fortified Settlement of Cossourado, or Fortress of the City, an Iron Age hillfort classified as a National Monument, and the Roman-Medieval Bridge of Rubiães, near the Coura river. Also included is the Church of São Pedro de Rubiães, a 13th-century Romanesque temple also classified as a National Monument.
The Via Cossourado also includes an interactive map, historical information, useful contacts and a space for pilgrims to register. On the south-north route, walkers cross the parishes of Agualonga, Rubiães, Cossourado and Linhares, contributing to the enhancement of the territory and the local economy of Paredes de Coura.
