Land in Proença-a-Nova with 5 205 m²

BEACH PROPERTY WITH LAND IN RIBEIRA DA PRACANA

Pine forest, olive groves, and support house

Support house with 150 sqm, barbecue, stone slab tables with shade, and a 7,500-liter water tank with plumbing connected to the house.

Land composition:

• Parcel 1: Pine Forest – 2,856 m² – 20%
• Parcel 2: Olive Grove and Fruit Trees – 3,236 m² – 20%
• Parcel 3: Permanent Artificial Pasture, Corn – 39%
• Parcel 4: Riverbed – 2,468 m² – 18%

PETRA CANA… PALLACRANA… PARACANA… PRACANA

Human occupation of the territory that corresponds to the current parish dates back to ancient times, as attested by the various archaeological remains found in the area, the oldest dating from the rock art period.

From the Lusitanian presence, the castros (hill forts) of Vilar da Lapa, Zimbreira, and Vale de Grou stand out, which served as defensive sites for the peoples of that era.

The richness of the Ribeira da Pracana and the Ocreza River in gold attracted the Carthaginians and Romans to this area of the Iberian Peninsula. Several place names in the parish are linked to gold exploitation: the gold blocks extracted from the shafts were called palacres or palacranas, which gave rise to the name Ribeira da Pracana (palacrana > paracana > peracana > pracana). Other names, such as ferrenhas and algarves, near São José das Matas, also refer to the mining activity that once animated this parish.

The Ribeira da Pracana

The Ribeira da Pracana, which runs by the village of Arganil, rises near Amêndoa and flows about 30 km later into the right bank of the Ocreza River, giving its name to the Pracana Dam.

There are at least two proposals for the origin of the word Pracana:

1. From Latin “Petra Cana”, meaning “White Stone”;
2. From “Pallacrana”, meaning “Blocks of Gold”.

The first theory is defended by Father Henrique da Silva Louro and Canon Arlindo Ribeiro da Cunha; the second by Maria Amélia Horta Pereira.

It was first referred to as “Ribeira da Paracana” on 5 August 1199, in the donation document of Açafa (Vila Velha de Ródão) by King Sancho I to the Templars, as the southern boundary of that donation.

Settlements and Tributaries

The Ribeira da Pracana also gave rise to the names of several villages along its course: Pracana da Ribeira (parish of Cardigos), Pracana Cimeira and Pracana Fundeira (parish of Carvoeiro).

Its main tributaries are the Ribeiras of Freixo, Mesão Frio, and Freixeda. In addition, there are several smaller streams in the Arganil region, such as:

• Ribeiro do Cascalhal
• Ribeiro do Vale das Aveias
• Ribeiro do Vale da Estrada/Aldravão
• Ribeiro do Vale Formoso/Freixoeirinho

A three-arch stone bridge over this river, in the village of Arganil on the EN 241-1, was built in the 19th century. There is thought to have been another very old bridge, near Sarnadas, built by the Order of Malta.

In the Ribeira da Pracana, at the site known as Poço do Alfaiate, a small dam was built in 2000 by the Mação Municipality.

The Ocreza River

The Ocreza River, sometimes also referred to as the Ribeira de Ocreza, is a Portuguese river that rises in the Serra da Gardunha at 1,160 m altitude, west of Castelo Novo, and flows into the Tagus River, downstream of the Fratel Dam, about 12 km from Fratel.