Located at the south-east end of the municipality, it is about seven kilometers from the city of Tarouca. It is formed by the towns of Couto, Pinheiro, Vila Chã do Monte and Vilarinho.

In S. João de Tarouca, the first Cistercian monastery in Portugal was implanted in the 12th century. He was called S. João de Barosa and also S. João de Mondim, as it is read in documents of the time. The Claravalense monks received great support, although interested, from the bourgeoisie of Tarouca, later joining the gifts of the nobility, in such a way that the church became a kind of pantheon of some strains and also of the most qualified people of Tarouca. D. Afonso Henriques granted a letter of couto to the monastery in 1140, to compensate the friars for the assistance given in taking Trancoso from the Moors.