The village of Cova came into existence in the mid-18th century, when fishermen from the vicinity of Ílhavo, in their wanderings along the coast in search of better fishing grounds, ended up settling on the south bank of the Mondego River, very close to the sea, in the hollow of a dune, which gave rise to the place name Cova.
Research carried out by the distinguished Covagalense, Commander João Pereira Mano, reveal that the first record of a baptism of a child born in Cova, in the Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Lavos, by Father Tomás da Costa, was on July 15, 1793, of a boy named Luís, son of Manuel Pereira and Luísa dos Santos, natives of Ílhavo, with godparents from the same town. This act served as official proof of the existence of the settlement, which had already been inhabited for several years.
Initially, the settlement consisted of huts made of reeds, which were abundant in this area. Some of them were uninhabited in winter, which was usually very harsh, making life almost unbearable and harsh in this desert formed by dunes, with some fishermen returning to their homeland during this season.
Over the years, some fishermen settled there permanently, building their wooden houses on stilts, raised above the ground so that the sand from the dunes, moved by the winds, would not bury them.
Many created small gardens alongside them, for growing vegetables, watered by shallow wells dug in the sand and supported by planks.
With the French invasions and occupation of the country, Portugal was aided by England, its ally. After the necessary military conditions were created, English troops landed on August 1-5 and 7-8, 1808, at the Mondego River estuary, in Figueira da Foz on the Cabedelo side, commanded by General Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington. Taking command of the Portuguese-British troops, he inflicted heavy defeats on the French invaders, forcing Junot to sign the surrender in Sintra and withdraw from our country.
As far as we know, the fishermen of Cova played a key role in this landing, providing assistance with their work and supplying boats.
It was also around 1808 that José da Silva Barreto, with his first company, Os Luíses, all natives of Ílhavo, arrived on these beaches, contributing to the consolidation of the settlement and the construction of the first Chapel of São Pedro. However, it was under the administration of his son-in-law, Remígio Falcão Barreto, that, due to the great prosperity of fishing, the land developed and grew, with the village having more than two hundred houses and around seven hundred inhabitants in 1837.
Gala was founded years later when these fishermen moved further east, along the southern branch of the Mondego River, taking advantage of the potential offered by the river, leaving the bar in Poveiro-style boats to fish for better quality sardines further from the coast. They built riverside huts to store their fishing gear and large wooden warehouses for salting, preserving, and selling sardines caught by the Cova and the boats, thus meeting the need to distribute the product.
The fishermen who moved from Cova to the riverbank began to socialize with people from other cultures and dress differently from those in Cova, much more elegantly, which led to some comments from their brothers on the seashore, who often asked them, “Hey, Joe, where are you going all dressed up?” It was this saying that gave rise to the place name Gala.
The construction of two bridges over the Mondego River, one in wood over the southern branch where the Arcos bridge was later built, and the other in iron, designed by French engineer Eiffel. The completion of the Royal Road No. 58 in 1905 and the establishment of the shipyards in Murraceira contributed to the rapid settlement of Gala.
It was here that carpenters, sawyers, caulkers, blacksmiths, and men of other professions came to work for the shipyards, most of them from the north of the country.
With the land undergoing rapid growth, people came from the neighboring areas to the south and set up businesses, especially taverns and grocery stores. All these new inhabitants integrated naturally into the fishing community and played a fundamental role in its development.
This cultural crossroads only enriched the history of the parish of São Pedro, which could never be told without mentioning the important contribution these men made to the consolidation of this land.
Over time, these two settlements grew closer together, forming a single population center that we naturally refer to as Cova Gala. These villages are typically fishing villages, with customs and traditions defined by the sea and fishing. First, with beach trawling, which led to the founding of the village, then river fishing. From the beginning of the 19th century, when Portugal gave a new boost to cod fishing, Figueira da Foz was one of the ports that began to send the most ships to the seas of Newfoundland in search of the faithful friend, leading generations and generations of Covagalenses, as captains, first mates, drivers, and fishermen, to dedicate themselves to this arduous and risky profession, obtaining remarkable results in what would come to be considered the Faina Maior. From the 1960s onwards, they began fishing in other distant seas and emigrated to various parts of the world, mainly to the United States, where they established a large community in the city of New Bedford, contributing to the success of one of the largest fishing ports in that country.
In the 1970s, a profound change began, brought about by the social openness that progress allowed.
Today, it is no longer possible to characterize these villages as typically fishing villages. The opening of the Figueira da Foz District Hospital, the establishment of several local and neighboring industries, and the development of tourism due to the excellent natural conditions contributed to the settlement of a large number of people and provided younger locals with the opportunity to find employment outside the fishing sector, leading to profound changes in both urban planning and lifestyle.
Saint Peter, the patron saint, was chosen as the name for the parish because it was the most agreed upon name among the inhabitants of Cova and Gala. These people, of unique origins, who once lived separated by a small strip of sand without ever truly assuming where one village began and another ended, nurtured immense rivalries over time, many caused by exaggerated parochialism related to the communities and their folk dance groups. The soccer games between Cova and Gala were, as they used to say, like a knife fight and rarely reached the end. Even a simple walk from Cova to Gala and vice versa sometimes had complicated consequences.
The inhabitants of Cova would say, somewhat maliciously, to those of Gala, “Cova is better off shitting on it all.” Those from Gala would retort, “Shit in your mouth is a city.” This practice, which became well known in the neighboring parishes, went out of fashion, and the frequent feuds faded over time, disappearing completely today. Contributing to this was the creation of the parish named São Pedro, the true link between these people.
Source: spcovagala