Avintes

Avintes is a Portuguese civil parish in the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia. The population in 2021 was 10,838, in an area of 8.82 km2. It is known in Portugal as "Terra da Broa", meaning "Land of the Broa", referring to the Broa de Avintes, a typical farmhouse bread widely consumed in Northern Portugal, which originated in Avintes.

==History== thumb|left|Avintes woman with typical costume, by Sofia Martins de Sousa Some origins of the parish, date back to the early settlement during the Megalithic cultures of the Iberian peninsula; there are references to the area of Arcas, an ancient necropole, designated for its dolmens that might have been constructed in this region. Arcas and Arcaínhas were synonymous with Celtic dolmen and Castro culture populations. Yet, other historians suggest this name was actually a corruption of the term Areias referring to "sand". Regardless, few direct links specify the association with Neolithic cultures and settlement, although most assume that region was settled by Castro builders. Roman occupation of the peninsula occurred from the 2nd century B.C., forcing-out many of the indigenous cultures and imposing a provincial system in which the region of Avintes was part of the much larger Scallabitanus. There, too, is little to substantiate Roman occupation of this area. Even the celebrated "Roman bridge" over the Febros is likely medieval in construction.