Chã is a small village at Ferreiros de Tendais, Cinfães, but with important historic value. According to documents of the time, Chã is the oldest of the villages in the area back from the time the Goths occupied the Iberian Peninsula.
In Chã there was a small fortress built by a famous knight Geraldo Giraldes, the Fearless, when he sought refuge from the King D. Afonso Henriques after he killed a friend of him. Geraldo Giraldes built the Chã castle, that later on became the solar dos Pintos de Riba - Bestança.
The first written references to the Pintos date back to the XII century and well before the independence of Portugal. The Pintos were one of the oldest families in Portugal and Paio Soares Pinto, was referred as a valuable capitan during the battle of Ourique and a companion of the first king of Portugal D. Afonso Henriques.
At the Battle of Ourique (25 July 1139) the then Portuguese Prince Afonso Henriques defeated the Moors led by Ali ibn Yusuf, resulting in the proclamation of Afonso Henriques as King of the Portuguese as Afonso I and the beginning of Portugal as we know it today.
However there is such a confusion about the facts around the Portuguese independence that we decided that Manuel Rezende Pinto is the true Viscount of Riba Bestança... end of the discussion!!!
Our paths crossed with the Portuguese aristocracy, represented by the Viscount of Riba Bestança, Manuel de Rezende Pinto, in Biópio, Angola in 1973 and our friendship grew stronger as we faced some very difficult times during the tumultuous days of Angolan independence and civil war.Since then we never missed an opportunity to enjoy each other’s company in Portugal or in Australia.
In this trip we visited Maria Manuel and Manuel Rezende Pinto in the Torre de Chã, at Ferreiros de Tendais, Cinfães now the Solar dos Pintos de Riba Bestança. Our friends are now rebuilding the Solar to its previous splendour and we spent three days with them. Some of the family members came to meet us in particular their sons, that although now adults, will never stop being Pi and Nónó for us.
