Xinzo de Limia and Ponte de Lima: the twinning and the Embrace of the Limia River

The river Limia, called Lima in Portugal, links two comarcas with matching names and a shared history. Xinzo de Limia and Ponte de Lima, the Portuguese town of the Alto Minho, have been twinned since 1984, an agreement renewed in 2025, and from that relationship came school, cultural and historical projects ^[1][2][3].

The 1984 twinning

According to the Concello of Xinzo, the two towns "have been united since 16 April 1984", and Xinzo’s was the first twinning agreement Ponte de Lima signed with another municipality. On 3 March 2025, as part of the 900 years of the Foral of Ponte de Lima, a meeting of twinned municipalities at the Palacete de Villa Moraes renewed the protocol after 41 years in force; at that event Ponte de Lima also signed new protocols with Saint-Cyr-l’École (France), Allariz (Ourense) and Dujiangyan (China), and reaffirmed its ties with Chalette-sur-Loing and Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy (France) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). These agreements seek to foster cultural, scientific, sporting, commercial and industrial cooperation ^[1].

The Embrace of the Limia River

The best-known initiative is the Embrace of the Limia (Lima) River, an annual meeting of schoolchildren from both sides of the border whose central act is a symbolic embrace of the river linking the two comarcas. The Primary schools of Xinzo (CEIP Rosalía de Castro and CEIP Carlos Casares) have taken part since the 4th edition, in 2014. In 2018, at the 9th edition, about a hundred pupils travelled to Ponte de Lima, visited Viana do Castelo, where the river is navigable (a surprise for the pupils, who compared it with the flow it carries passing through Xinzo), and the Portuguese town’s garden contest, and the next day performed the embrace. The events alternate between the two towns, and in 2023 the 12th Abraço, organised by the Câmara of Ponte de Lima, gathered over 1,500 pupils from Galicia and Portugal around three bonds: Land, River and Language ^[2][3].

Other exchanges

Since 2011, the Civitas Limicorum Association has driven joint projects: the first Embrace of the Limia River in Xinzo in 2012, the re-enactment in Ponte de Lima of Decimus Junius Brutus crossing the river (the same scene as the Festival of Forgetting) and Xinzo’s participation in the Historic Procession of the Feiras Novas. Regular exchanges include Xinzo’s presence at the Environment Fair, the "Day of Xinzo" in Ponte de Lima and the participation of bagpipe groups and choirs. The 2025 programme included a choir festival organised by the Coral Santa Mariña of Xinzo with a performance by the Orfeão Limiano, a new Embrace of the Limia River in June in Xinzo and the Twin Towns Festival in Ponte de Lima in August ^[1].

Frequently asked questions

Since when have Xinzo and Ponte de Lima been twinned? Since 16 April 1984 ^[1].

What is the Embrace of the Limia River? An annual meeting of schoolchildren of the two towns whose main act is to symbolically embrace the river ^[2][3].

Links

• History of A Limia
• The Civitas Limicorum
• Festival of Forgetting
• The Limia river

Sources

1. Concello de Xinzo de Limia, «Xinzo de Limia renova o seu irmandamento con Ponte de Lima tras 41 anos de vixencia», 06/03/2025. https://www.xinzodelimia.gal/cultura/xinzo-limia-renova-seu-irmandamento-ponte-lima-41-anos-vixencia/20250306115540006816.html
2. Concello de Xinzo de Limia, «Noveno abrazo ao río Limia tivo lugar en Ponte de Lima», 14/10/2018. http://www.xinzodelimia.es:80/articulo/educacion/noveno-abrazo-ao-rio-limia-tivo-lugar-ponte-lima/20181014011514002054.html
3. Concello de Xinzo de Limia, «Escolares de Xinzo de Limia participaron no XII Abrazo ao Río Lima», 11/10/2023. https://www.xinzodelimia.gal/cultura/escolares-xinzo-limia-participaron-xii-abrazo-ao-rio-limia/20231011204935006357.html