Towns and Villages

Founded in the 14th century by Dom Dinis, on the condition that one hundred residents would be brought together to form the community, the town took the name of Cerveira due to the colony of deer (cervos) that were to be found in the region.

Situated close to the border with Spain on the banks of the River Minho, where there is a ferryboat linking the town to Goyan in Galicia, Vila Nova de Cerveira has a wide variety of monuments, testifying to its rich past.

Since 1978, Vila Nova de Cerveira has been famous for its biennial exhibition of visual arts, an important national event whose fame has now spread to other countries and has begun to attract many international artists.