The goldsmiths of Viana and the gold of faith: history and tradition

In Minho, the shine of gold isn't just luxury. It's memory, devotion, a fulfilled promise, and identity. In Viana do Castelo, this is felt on the street, on the goldsmith's bench, in the hands of the stewardesses who, every summer, crisscross the city with layers of necklaces, crosses, hearts, and earrings. Gold is often referred to as savings or adornment. Here, another layer of meaning is added: the gold of faith.

A story made of devotion and craft

The connection between Viana and goldsmithing dates back centuries. The sea brought trade, fairs established artisans, and gold, arriving from afar, found hands that knew how to tame it. With the arrival of gold from Brazil in the 18th and 19th centuries, the region experienced a surge in production. The precious metal circulated throughout popular life, taking on its own forms, rooted in festivals, rites, and costumes.

Gold in Viana was also a social code. It was a dowry, an inheritance, a protection. On the neck, on the chest, on the ears, the metal indicated where it came from, what it believed, what it promised. Faith provided the motive, the goldsmith the body.

In this story, the workshop was the heart. Masters and apprentices, entire families, migrating knowledge from bench to bench, protected recipes, honed techniques, and fine-tuned punches. The meticulous work required time, silence, and a keen eye. And a relationship with the client that is rare: many pieces are born from long conversations, family stories, and thanksgivings to saints.

What is called the gold of faith

Gold of faith is the name given by many to a set of jewelry and objects born of devotion and commitment to the sacred. It's not just a set of religious motifs. It's the idea that there's a golden thread that connects the promise to the jewel, the vow to the form.

• Ex-votos: small objects offered in gratitude for a grace, often hearts or replicas of the recovered item, in precious metal.
• Cross on the chest: a sign of protection and belonging, inherited from mothers to daughters, from grandmothers to granddaughters.
• Rosaries and reliquaries: used in prayer and on the chest, halfway between sacramental and adornment.
• Devoted Heart: inspired by devotions to the Sacred Heart, transformed into a jewel with a vegetal spiral and volutes, a symbol of love and commitment.

There's also the economic dimension of the sacred. In Minho, gold was a stable savings instrument. In a country of cyclical crises, the piece passed down from generation to generation holds value and history. The gold of faith, in this sense, is a visible safe, shown to the world and, at the same time, offered to a Lady or a Saint on a feast day.

Filigree: language of brilliance

Among the techniques used in Minho goldsmithing, filigree stands out. Made of extremely fine gold threads, twisted and intertwined, it creates arabesques of almost impossibly lightness.

How a filigree piece is born:

1. The gold is melted and rolled, passing through rollers until it becomes wire.
2. The wire enters the drawing machine, tapering in successive steps to a hair diameter.
3. Two threads are twisted together, becoming a tiny rope, the nerve of the filigree.
4. The goldsmith shapes motifs, fitting them into a frame that gives the piece its contours.
5. With solder and precise flame, he secures each joint. Too much temperature, and the wire melts. Too little temperature, and the solder doesn't flow.
6. Sanded, burnished, polished. Light does the rest.

Most used bench tools:

• Anvil, hammers and files of various cuts
• Drawing and rolling mill
• Blowtorch, borax and crucible
• Tweezers, reamers, fine drills
• Wax and forms to stabilize the mesh

Filigree isn't just technical. It's an aesthetic voice. In Viana, it dances with plant motifs, spirals, and waves, approaching popular baroque, conveying an energy that contrasts with the delicacy of the thread.

Pieces that tell a region

The lexicon of Minho gold is extensive. Here's a map to guide your gaze.

Part	Origin and symbolism	When to use	Technical details
Heart of Viana	Devotions to the Heart of Jesus and Mary, love and promise	Parties, weddings, inheritances	Silent filigree, volutes, lower beak
Earrings to the Queen	Popularized in the 19th century, linked to festive attire	Big days, photo shoots	Layered structure, beads, filigree
Collections	Circular piece with pendant, medieval roots	Pilgrimages and costumes of Minho	Hollow hoops, twisted wire garlands
Crosses and crucifixes	Visible religious protection and belonging	All year round and in processions	Robust frame, wire granite details
Beaded necklaces	Also called cotton beads, spherical and oval beads	On the chest, in several rows	Hollow blown beads, invisible welds
Reliquaries and medals	They hold memories, symbols of saints and devotions	Promise and gratitude dates	Tiny hinges, hand engraving

The variety is enormous. There are windmills, lassoes, clovers, swallows, figs, and protective hands. And then there's the combination, which is an art in itself: the ability to compose the chest with weight and rhythm, alternating volumes and voids.

The party as a living stage

Anyone who saw the Mordomia Parade during the Senhora d'Agonia Festival will cherish the image. Thousands of women of all ages enter downtown Viana in full regalia. The gold shimmers in the sun, they move in cadence, and speak loudly.

This parade isn't sterile ostentation. It's popular liturgy. Each piece has a story, many have godfathers and godmothers, almost all of them have passed through familiar hands. On the day, an old promise is fulfilled or a new one made. The gold weighs, the body feels it, faith marches forward down the street.

The streets, balconies, flower-filled arches, and the maritime procession complete the landscape. The city becomes a showcase for itself, and workshops work for months to be ready for August. The calendar shapes the year for those who make and those who use it.

Workshops, lineages and the touch of the country

Traditional goldsmithing is done in small workshops. Some houses are multi-generational, where a discreet signature appears on the back of a cross or near the peak of a heart. Well-established, these houses understand local tastes and keep up with trends without losing touch with their roots.

In Portugal, gold is hallmarked by an official assay office, certifying the alloy's fineness. Minho goldsmiths are renowned for their 19.2-karat gold, a highly pure alloy, soft and with a warm glow. Those who work with this fineness know its docility and fragility. Such a fine thread, in such a rich alloy, requires a skilled hand.

The relationship with the client remains close. Many orders stem from designs created on-site, adaptations of family pieces, and new uses for inherited gold. The goldsmith translates narrative into metal. And that requires trust.

Faith, economy and inheritance

In Minho, faith and finances went hand in hand. Gold served as portable savings and a family reserve. When a pinch hit, you melt down a piece, settle a bill. When a daughter was born, you saved a pair of earrings. When you promised marriage, you added a little money.

This circulation breathes life into the workshops. The pieces don't remain still. They pass through, transform, gain engravings and dates, heal welds, change hands. At the same time, they preserve the regional character, the gesture of those who made them, the intention of those who commissioned them.

For those who emigrated, a heart in their chest was and is a bridge to the land. Gold travels through the body, needing no explanation. It's an international language that speaks Minho with an accuracy no subtitle can match.

How to recognize authentic work

In a market that blends traditional techniques with mass-market casting, it's important to keep an eye out. A few simple clues can help.

• The interior of filigree pieces reveals voids and a vibrant mesh. Casting tends to present homogeneous surfaces, without the lightness of threads.
• Discreet joints and welds, without excess material. Clean finish, smooth edges, no cuts.
• A certified ring should be visible next to the ring or on the back. Avoid unbranded pieces unless they come with documentary proof of their age.
• Weight consistent with size. Well-crafted filigree is light, solid crosses have substance.
• Workshop history and close relationship. Those who do, explain. Those who imitate, avoid.

Caring for gold wisely

Gold is resilient, but requires care. Certain practices can prolong the life of pieces.

• Store in individual fabric bags, avoiding friction between pieces.
• Remove before swimming, swimming, the beach, the gym, or long swims. Chlorine and aggressive sweat can attack alloys and welds.
• Clean with a soft cloth. For stubborn dirt, use mild soap, warm water, and a soft-bristled brush.
• Periodic inspections in the workshop, especially on very open filigree and antique pieces.
• Avoid applying perfumes and creams directly to the jewelry.

Pieces with stones, pearls, or enamel require special care. Questions? Take them to a jeweler. An experienced eye can prevent invisible damage that could end up tearing a string or loosening a hoop.

Innovation, sustainability and the future of the craft

Viana's workshops are attentive to new audiences. Designers are reinventing the heart, creating lighter earrings, modular necklaces, and bracelets that fit with inherited pieces. Filigree intertwines with cleaner lines, without losing the organic design that distinguishes it.

Responsible metal sourcing is also discussed. Recycled gold, transparent supply chains, and techniques that reduce waste are all part of the conversation. Traditional workbenches coexist with wax printers and microscopes for precision welding. The human hand remains supreme, but it gains tools that mitigate errors and speed up processes.

Training is key. Schools and in-house apprenticeship programs keep the craft alive. The process is patient, based on repetition and monitoring, until the hand memorizes the temperatures, shine, and smell of the metal at just the right point.

Itinerary for those visiting Viana and surrounding areas

Viana is a city to be explored slowly, keeping an eye out for the small shop windows and workshops on less obvious streets.

• Viana do Castelo Costume Museum, with a collection of goldsmithing integrated into Minho costume.
• Senhora d'Agonia Festival, in August, to see the gold in the street, in motion.
• Goldsmith shops in historic areas, where you can see active stands and talk to the craftsmen.
• Póvoa de Lanhoso, a short distance away, has a notable tradition in filigree and spaces dedicated to the memory of the craft.

At each stop, the right question opens doors. Who made this piece? What story does it hold? How do you wear it with the costume? Answers from the panel are live lessons.

Small glossary to read carefully

• Filigree: a technique that uses fine gold or silver threads, twisted and fitted into a structure, creating openwork motifs.
• Granules: small metal spheres used to texture and punctuate the design.
• Fineness: Precious metal content in the alloy, expressed in thousandths or carats.
• Hallmark: official certification of touch and authorship, with marks applied in a discreet location.
• Butler: woman who is involved in organizing parties, wearing full attire and carrying a large amount of gold.
• Ex-voto: object offered as a promise, in gratitude for grace received.

A craft that is heard

Anyone who sits in a Viana workshop notices that sound rules. The clink of the file, the whispering flame, the dripping solder. The goldsmith works with sidelights, protecting his hands from excessive heat, and taking short breaks to protect his eyes. Between pieces, he serves customers, takes measurements, and draws a new heart on graph paper to hang on someone's chest.

Faith is in this design and in the patience of the gesture. It doesn't need much speech. It's in the custom of giving thanks, of caring, of passing on what has value. Gold, seen up close, is just metal. In the right hands, it becomes a promise. And the promise, entwined with a fine thread, becomes a form that enters a family's life and remains there. Shining on festive days, resting in the velvet-lined box, emerging when the Lady calls.