Vila Real de Santo António council has been invited by UNESCO to apply for world heritage status for its city centre and the entire village of Cacela Velha.
For Vila Real de Santo António, the application is for the historic centre as it is one of the best examples of urban architecture surviving from the eighteenth century.
The council has safeguards in place to make sure the centre remains preserved much as the Marquis de Pombal intended.
As for Cacela Velha, the UNESCO application takes into account the uniqueness and the degree of preservation of the village which already was classified as Public Property of Interest in 1996 due to the wealth and age of archaeological finds, its location and landscaping, as well as 15 years of historical and archaeological research to date.
Cacala Velha’s fortress (see below) has Islamic origins. Other buildings of interest include the sixteenth-century church and the parish priest’s house (recently restored), and the old cemetery.
To Luís Gomes, the Vila Real de Santo António mayor, "these two applications give even more strength to the strategy developed over the last 10 years for the conservation of our heritage, a fact that led to Villa Real being the first city in the country to obtain approval for a Urban Renewal Area and associated safeguards in a plan that focused on the centre and set in motion a redevelopment plan valued at €1.5 million.”
The Vila Real de Santo António council now will ‘select members for a scientific committee to monitor the application and bringing together associations, public and private entities, residents and traders in a process that aims to highlight the authenticity and increase the status of VRSA as tourist and heritage destination of excellence.’
For more local information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vila_Real_de_Santo_Ant%C3%B3nio
