In the 15th century, the documentation related to legacies and validations emerges with more intensity, denoting the existence of noble families, within which, more precisely at Casa da Pereira, the navigator Fernão de Magalhães was born, to whom the plans and partial execution of Earth's first circumnavigation trip.

The way of life of these noble families can now be imagined based on the observation of the countless manors and emblazoned houses that are distributed throughout the municipality, which can be appreciated in almost all villages.

With the economic prosperity achieved due to the production and trade of wine, the power and influence of this nobility was reinforced, leading to a proliferation of manors in the 18th century. This economic and social start was mainly due to the creation, in 1756, of the Douro Demarcated Region, the first in the world, and to the foundation of the General Company of Agriculture of the Vineyards of the Alto Douro by the Marquis of Pombal.