Matosinhos Municipality

Matosinhos
Municipality
A view along the Aveninda da Liberidade and coast of Matosinhos
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 41°11′N 8°42′W / 41.183°N 8.700°W / 41.183; -8.700Coordinates: 41°11′N 8°42′W / 41.183°N 8.700°W / 41.183; -8.700
Country	Portugal
Region	Norte
Subregion	Grande Porto
Metropolitan area	Porto
District	Porto
Parishes	4
Government
• President	Guilherme Pinto (PS)
Area
• Total	62.42 km2 (24.10 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	175,478
• Density	2,800/km2 (7,300/sq mi)
Time zone	WET/WEST (UTC+0/+1)
Website	http://www.cm-matosinhos.pt

Matosinhos (Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐtuˈziɲuʃ]) is a city and a municipality in the northern Porto district of Portugal, bordered in the south by the city of Porto. The population in 2011 was 175,478, and covered an area of approximately 62.42 square kilometres (24.10 sq mi). The urban centre, the city proper, had a population of 45,703 in 2001.

The oldest vestige of human settlement in this territory extend back thousands of years and include instruments and Paleolithic artefacts, collected along the old beaches (specifically Boa Nova and Almeiriga). The settlement of the land began sometime 5000 years ago, during the Neolithic, as evidenced from various funeral monuments and dolmens sporadically situated in Lavra, Perafita, Leça do Balio, Santa Cruz do Bispo, Guifões and São Gens.

At the end of the Bronze Age, much like most of the northwest peninsula, settlements expanded into proto-urban agglomerations at high altitudes (castros), associated with a culture with specific characteristics that predominated until the 1st century. Until today there still exist vestiges of castros dotting the landscapes, such as the assets collected from the Castro of Monte Castelo in Guifões. The natural conditions and navigability of the Leça River estuary assisted maritime transport, that depended on the transport of a diverse flow of merchandise from throughout Imperial Roman. Here, the products were offloaded and redistributed to other sites within the region.

Its position within the Roman Empire provoked profound changes to the territory's structure and settlement. The opening of new links (like the road between Cale and Bracara Augusta) and the construction of bridges (such as the Ponte da Pedra) resulted from a general policy of development, communication and commerce, associated with Pax Romana. The estuary of Leça and the area of Lavra, therefore, became the most Romanized localities, as seen by the establishment of a villa and the constitution of production structures associated with sal production.

When Portugal was established in the 12th century, a settlement in the territory had already existed for a time, Vila de Matesinum. One of the first official records referring to Matusiny dates from 1258, the result of Inquiries of Afonso III. At that time Matosinhos was a humble location, part of the parish of Sandim. During the late Middle Ages, the territory was marked by the foundation of monasteries and convents, such as the Monastery of Bouças. This monastery, which had its origin in the 10th century, supported the growth of the settlement, and eventually became the administrative centre of the Julgado de Bouças in the 13th century: the basis of the municipality of Matosinhos. Meanwhile, another medieval monument, the Monastery of Leça do Balio, whose origin extended back to the 10th century, later (12th century) became the primitive seat of the Ordem Militar dos Cavaleiros Hospitalários (the Portuguese version of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta). The Order of Malt also maintained several other properties, that included monasteries of Lavra, Moreira and Aldoar.