Vila Real de Santo António celebrates, on the 11th of March, the 35th anniversary of its elevation to city status, together with the municipalities of Fundão, Marinha Grande and Montemor-o-Novo.
The city once again receives representatives of the sister cities for a commemorative program that also marks the 29th anniversary of the educational project «Discovering the 4 Cities», which will feature the participation of dozens of students involved in this initiative.
In Praça Marquês de Pombal, the celebrations begin at 10 am, with the singing of the National Anthem and the raising of flags. This is followed by the anthem of Vila Real de Santo António, by the VRSA Philharmonic Band, and the delivery of souvenirs to the host president.
The chanting of the traditional hymn "Caracol da Amizade" will not be missing on this day, which continues with a performance by the Ethnographic Group Santo António de Arenilha and the Philharmonic Band of the Cultural Association of VRSA.
The celebrations continue at the António Aleixo Cultural Centre, at 10 am, with the opening of the exhibition «Heritages of the 45 cities», followed by the formal session at 4 am.
On March 11, 1988, the then villages of Fundão, Marinha Grande, Montemor-o-Novo and Vila Real de Santo António were elevated to the category of cities, in an act witnessed, in the Assembly of the Republic, by many citizens of Fundan, Marinhenses, Montemorenses and Vilarealenses.
From that date on, the four cities became known as «sister cities» and March 11th is, since then, celebrated as the birthday of these cities, being celebrated, in rotation, in each of the locations.
The inter-school project «Discovering the 4 Cities» was born in 1994 with the aim of giving all primary school children the opportunity to get to know these cities geographically, gastronomically and culturally.
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