Introduction
Municipality in Centro, PortugalIdanha-a-NovaMunicipalityTown of Idanha-a-Nova
FlagCoat of armsInteractive map of Idanha-a-NovaIdanha-a-NovaLocation in PortugalCoordinates: 39°55′N 7°14′W / 39.917°N 7.233°W / 39.917; -7.233Country PortugalRegionCentroIntermunic. comm.Beira BaixaDistrictCastelo BrancoParishes13Government • PresidentArmindo Moreira Palma Jacinto (PS)Area • Total1,416.34 km2 (546.85 sq mi)Population (2011) • Total9,716 • Density6.860/km2 (17.77/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+00:00 (WET) • Summer (DST)UTC+01:00 (WEST)Local holidayMonday 15 daysafter EasterWebsiteOfficial website
Idanha-a-Nova (pronounced [iˈðɐɲɐ ɐ ˈnɔvɐ] or [iˌðɐɲaˈnɔvɐ] ⓘ), officially the Town of Idanha-a-Nova (Portuguese: Vila de Idanha-a-Nova), is a town and municipality in the district of Castelo Branco, in east-central Portugal. A border municipality with Spain, the population of the municipality in 2011 was 9,716, in an area of 1416.34 km2, making it one of the largest and least densely populated municipalities in Portugal as well as the first Portuguese municipality by population ageing. King Afonso II (1211–1223) confirmed its charter in 1219 renaming the village with the current place names (Idanha-a-Nova) to distinguish it from the old Idanha (hereinafter Idanha-a-Velha), 18 kilometers away. The municipal holiday is the Monday 15 days after Easter. The incumbent mayor is Armindo Moreira Palma Jacinto, representing the Socialist Party.
History
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Main articles: Egitânia, Castle of Idanha-a-Nova, Castle-of-Idanha-a-Velha, and Cathedral of Idanha-a-Velha
There are numerous prehistoric vestiges of human occupation throughout the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova (Idanha "the new"), such as menhirs and tapirs. The Romans had an important influence, namely in the civil parishes of Monsanto, Idanha-a-Velha (Idanha "the old", formerly known as the Roman Civitas Igaeditanorum and the Germanic Egitânia) and Ladoeiro and in the countryside around the town of Idanha-a-Nova proper, where there was a Roman villa, immortalized in an ancient mosaic. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Suevi and Visigoths dominated, and is from that time the creation of the now extinct Bishopric of Egitânia. In terms of architectural heritage, Egitânia (Idanha-a-Velha) stands out as an archaeological site from the year 534, which was one of the most important cities in Lusitania at a time, with the remaining sections of Roman pavements and the Romanesque bridge, built over the Ponsul River. In 1187, a castle was built by Gualdim Pais, a Portuguese crusader, Knight Templar in the service of Afonso Henriques of Portugal. King Sancho I (1185–1211) granted Idanha a foral charter in 1201 in order to encourage the settlement and defence of the land. His successor, King Afonso II (1211–1223) confirmed this charter in 1219 renaming the village with the current place names (Idanha-a-Nova) to distinguish it from the old Idanha (hereinafter Idanha-a-Velha), 18 kilometers away. The village of Idanha-a-Nova has developed a lot since then, at the same time Idanha-a-Velha went into steady decline. In the late fifteenth century, King Manuel I of Portugal (1495–1521), was surprised with the difference in the development of the two Idanhas (1496) and in June 1510, recognizing the progress of Idanha-a-Nova, granted it new charter. At this time, the town and its castle, including the layout, was recorded down by Duarte de Armas in his Book of Fortresses in 1509. A border municipality with Spain, the whole area was theatre of war, skirmishes and invasions throughout several periods in Portuguese history. A large part of the population of the entire area migrated to other parts of Portugal and foreign countries from the 1960s onwards. The massive exodus was due to economic reasons since the area remained cut-off from the rest of the country and neighboring Spain as well as largely underdeveloped throughout most of the 20th century. From the 2000s to the early 2020s, thanks to EU structural and cohesion funds, inland Portugal's settlement policies, the rise of tourism in Portugal and a wave of foreign direct investment, the depopulation phenomenon was mitigated but the municipality is still characterized by stagnation in population growth and intense population ageing.
