Loriga

Loriga (Portuguese pronunciation: [luˈɾiɡɐ]) is a civil parish (Portuguese: freguesia) in south-central part of the municipality of Seia, in central Portugal. Part of the district of Guarda, it is 20 km away from the city of Seia, 40 km away from Viseu, 80 km away from Guarda and 320 km from Lisbon, nestled in the Serra da Estrela mountain range. The population in 2011 was 1,053, in an area of 36.25 km², including the two localities/villages of Loriga and Fontão.

History

Loriga was founded originally along a column between ravines where today the historic centre exists. The site was ostensibly selected more than 2600 years ago, owing to its defensibility, the abundance of potable water and pasturelands, and lowlands that provided conditions to practice both hunting and gathering/agriculture.

When the Romans arrived in the region, the settlement was concentrated into two areas. The larger, older and principal agglomeration was situated in the area of the main church and Rua de Viriato, fortified with a wall and palisade. The second group, in the Bairro de São Ginês, were some small homes constructed on the rocky promintory, which were later appropriated by the Visigoths in order to construct a chapel. The 1st century Roman road and two bridges (the second was destroyed in the 17th century after flooding) connected the outpost of Lorica to the rest of their Lusitanian province. The barrio of São Ginês (São Gens), a local ex-libris, is the location of the chapel of Nossa Senhora do Carmo, an ancient Visigothic chapel. São Gens, a Celtic saint, martyred in Arles na Gália, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, and over time the locals began to refer to this saint as São Ginês, due to its easy of pronunciation.