 In the 16th century, King D. John III expanded the local church and resulting in its conversion into a large Dominican monastery.The bridge was destroyed by a flood in 1763 and was rebuilt.In the second French invasion, during the Peninsular War, French forces commanded by Marshall Soult, found themselves at the bridge over the Tâmega, and needed to secure their connection to Spain, while advancing from Porto to Marco de Canaveses through Amarante.