Although small (with a population of under 10,000) LAMEGO has always been a well-to-do place. Once through the charmless modern outskirts, the overriding impression is one of graceful white villas on the hillsides, and the luxuriant architecture of its many manor houses and churches. Much of the wealth derived from the geographical position astride a valuable trade route from the Beiras to the Douro, but the town's real importance stems from its history: in 1143, less than a century after its Reconquest from the Moors by Fernando Magno and Rodrigo de Vivar (the famous "El Cid"), Lamego hosted Portugal's first parliament.
The town also has one of the very greatest Baroque structures in Europe – the dominant shrine of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios – while the surrounding region is perhaps best known for its churches and monasteries, a legacy of the twelfth-century Reconquista. Lamego was among the first towns to be retaken from the Moors, and the surrounding verdant valleys are full of ancient places of worship in varying states of preservation.