The people of Tavir will have the final say in choosing the name of the new bridge over Gilão, in the historic center of Tavira. The Tavirense Chamber put to vote three potential place names for the crossing and the population can vote for their favorite, between the 17th and 30th of May.
Interested parties must submit their vote online, through this link, and choose between three names: “Ponte dos 500 anos”, “Ponte Gilão” and “Ponte dos Navegadores”.
The first, “Ponte dos 500 Anos”, refers to the half-millennium of the elevation of Tavira, from town to town, by King Manuel I, on March 16, 1520. The commemoration of this event took place last year and «coincided with the beginning of the construction of the new bridge», illustrated the Câmara de Tavira.
The toponym “Ponte Gilão” «aimed at highlighting the geostrategic importance of the river Gilão in the construction of the city itself. The old port of Tavira, located on this river, allowed the enrichment and the naval, mercantile and military affirmation of Tavira in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries».
The designation “Ponte dos Navegadores” is intended to “honor all navigators, namely those linked to Tavira: João Vaz Corte Real and his sons, Gaspar and Miguel Corte Real, as well as João Arias, born in Tavira, one of the cabin boys of Cristóvão Colombo ».
«Fernão de Magalhães also chose a sailor from Tavira to join his crew. Vasco da Gama, on his expedition, took a ship called “Bérrio”, probably built in the Tercenas of Tavira by the Bérrio family», according to the Câmara de Tavira.
The three names to be voted on were discussed and approved, "unanimously, by the Municipal Commission of Toponymy."
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