History
Although there are no elements that lead us to a precise date of the establishment of Cantanhede, there are some important archaeological findings that show an human presence in the territory during the Middle Palaeolithic (at least), which had its terminus around 30,000 to 28,000 B.C. The toponym Cantanhede comes from Celtic root cant, which means big rock, and which relates to the stone-pits that exist in the region. From this root, the primitive Cantonieti was born, as is mentioned in documentation from the XI, XII, and XIII centuries, but it was also written in different ways: Cantoniedi, Cantionidi and Cantonetu. The Menezes were the donees, and D. Pedro de Menezes was the first Count of Cantanhede,noble appellation attributed by the King D. Afonso V, in his letter of July 6th 1479.
Distinctive Aspects
Those who visit the Municipality of Cantanhede encounter an enormous range of experiences through direct contact with nature, which stimulates with its richness and diversity or in the social intercourse with a socio-cultural existence, united around the references and patrimonial values that consubstantiate the particular lifestyles of the three natural regions that constitute the territory: Gândara, spreading out along the ocean; Bairrada, in the interior, where the seasons of the year are seen through evolution of the vineyard; and the Baixo Mondego, to the South, in a contiguous valley all the way till the stone-pits, famous for the stone of Ançã (Pedra de Ançã).