Description Mesão Frio

The settlement of the territory that today belongs to the cold Mesão is previous to the Roman occupation and proof of this are the archaeological treasure found throughout the county and the castro of Cidadelhe.

 It deserves to be visited to admire the old pillory, the beautiful mother church of St. Nicholas (rebuilt in 1877, the ceiling maintains its magnificent panels of the sixteenth century, each displaying the portrait of a saint), or the cloisters of the old Convent of St. Francisco, from the 18th century, which now houses the City Hall and the Tourist Office.

It is thought that the birth of this settlement was about AD III because it was proven to be a passageway for travelers staying in mansions (mansionis frigidae) on the main roads of the Roman Empire, travelers, provided meals, kept the horses, and served as the moulting station for these same animals.

Today it is known that the name Mesão Frio comes from the linguistic evolution of the Latin word for the lodges, "mansionis frigidae".

This county is known as the Port of the Douro, due to having in its territory the first Pombaline landmarks of the Douro Demarcated Region, established by Marquês de Pombal in the 17th century. XVIII, and also for being in the limit of this same region.

With magnificent landscapes on the Douro, which dazzle anyone, Mesão Frio still has another strong point, the gastronomy of Douro.