The village of Marialva is one of the 12 Historic Villages of Portugal and is located just minutes from the city of Mêda. This village, one of the living relics of our ancestry, takes us to the deepest roots of our history.

There are many of the remains of the Civitas Aravorum of the Romans. Suevi and Arabs disputed it. Fernando Magno conquered it in 1063, and, according to legend, D. Afonso II donated the village to a lady who called himself D. Maria Alva.

Populated by Aravos, Portuguese people, it was later conquered by the Romans, followed by the Arabs, until the final victory of D. Fernando Magno, in 1063. In 1179 he received the charter of D. Afonso Henriques, having maintained an activity intense- thanks to the fairs that took place there - until the end of the century. XVIII. In the year 1200, the castle was ordered to be rebuilt and restored by D. Sancho I and was later enlarged by order of King D. Dinis.

Upon entering Marialva, we feel that we are entering a historic setting, the streets, lined with buildings resistant to time, lead us to the citadel surrounded by the walls in whose ruins we lose track of time. Within the walls, the Praça stands out, solemnly marked by the Pillory and by the building of the old Casa da Câmara, also a court and jail (17th century); a few meters further on, the keep and the Santiago Church with its magnificent painted ceiling and the Misericórdia Chapel, appreciated by the carved altarpiece, are true treasures built within the walled enclosure.

The population that lives in the buildings outside the walls has on their faces the hospitable look of the people from Beira, initialed by the authenticity of the face wrinkles. Marialva is one of the sixteen villages and parishes in the municipality of Mêda whose monumental remains keep the memory of a very important historical past.