IGAEDIS

Idanha-a-Velha, one of the twelve Historical Villages of Portugal, is the central focus of this research. Situated inthe hinterland close to the border with Spain, it is part of a municipality known for one of the highest rates of
population ageing, decrease in population size, school dropouts and unemployment rates in the country. Nonetheless, the municipality has great tourism potential due to its heritage resources, especially Idanha, now a village but once a capital city (in Roman times), bishopric (Suebian-Visigothic period) and even Knight Templar's centre (Middle Ages). Now home to 50 residents, the village was once possibly the most important of the current
Portuguese hinterland between the Tagus / Douro rivers for almost 1,200 years, from the Roman period to the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal. The traces of its cultural heritage show that it was an important meeting place for different people and cultures: this native land was crossed by Romans, Suebi, Visigoths, Muslims and Christians.

The village still boasts important monuments, a remnant of its historical legacy: the Roman forum, the Roman/Medieval wall, the old bridge, the Templar's castle keep, the Church of Sta. Maria, and two Suebian-Visigoth baptisteries. Today, Idanha is listed as a National Monument.

The proposed research seeks to build upon and expand the scale of intervention of a project from a partnership between the University of Coimbra, the Nova University of Lisbon, the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova and the Regional Directorate for Culture-Central Region. lt focuses on the study of the old city, its territory and populations, and is based on an innovative, interdisciplinary and diachronic methodological framework: interdisciplinary because it articulates different researchers, pursuing an integrated vision of the past; diachronic because it concerns a long period
of time, from the Roman period (first century BC) to the Middle Ages (12th century).

lts structure follows 3 research axes: i) the old city: composition of urban morphologies; ii) the territory: from the ancient political geography to the rural settlement and the exploitation of resources; iii) the population: from habits to a genetic perspective on its origin and mobility.

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