The site of Nazaré, known literally as "Sítio", is one of the most fascinating points on the Portuguese coast. The legend of the Knight Templar D. Fuas Roupinho, saved when galloping after a deer (the devil) by an apparation of the Virgin Mary, when his horse was headed towards the edge of the promontory, indicates an old Christianized cult. The mark of the shoe on the horse's hoof is said to be seen to this day. In the small chapel of Our Lady of Nazaré, the image of the Virgin worship there is of Palestinian origin (carved, naturally, by St. Luke...), might be the revival of the cult of the Goddess-Mother. Perhaps because of this, it is a dark virgin, wich substituted a black Virgin. Study of local and nearby place names (Pederneira or Pedra Negra), as well as knowledge of a monastery (as is the case of the late-mediaeval monastery of S. Gião-S. João or S. Julião (St. John or St. Julian, related to the solstitial cult), well demonstrate how the lands of Alcobaça, colonized by the Cistercians and culminating in Nazaré, constituted a highly qualified ancestral enclave from the point of view of mythical geography.
Places: Sítio; Nazaré; Pederneira; S. Gião; Cela; (Vestiaria; Alcobaça)
O teu trabalho, já dava para escrever um livro, não só sobre as nossas tradições, mas principalmente sobre o nosso povo. Parabéns. Tenho grande admiração pelo teu trabalho. Beijos
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