In Greco-Roman mythology, the Lethe was the river that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. The souls of the departed gathered at its banks, drank its waters, and every memory of their previous life dissolved. Only then could they return to the world — to begin again, unburdened by the past.

The historian Strabo was the first to identify the Lima with the legendary Lethe. But the origin may be older still. According to his account, the name came from an incident between Turduli and Celtic peoples: during an expedition, they attempted to cross this river, fell into conflict, their leader was killed, and the survivors scattered along the riverbanks — forgetting entirely the mission that had brought them there. The river that causes forgetting was not only a metaphor. It was the collective memory of a real collapse.

In 135 BC, the Roman forces of Decimus Junius Brutus reached the left bank of the Lima. The beauty of the place convinced them they had arrived at the river of oblivion. The soldiers refused to cross. The commander pulled the legion's standard from the soldier who carried it, spurred his horse into the water, and crossed alone. From the far bank, he called each man by name — proving he had forgotten nothing. Only then did the army follow. Brutus went on to earn the cognomen Callaicus, conqueror of what is now Galicia.

Ponte de Lima is the oldest chartered town in Portugal, having received its first foral on 4 March 1125, granted by Queen Theresa— before the kingdom of Portugal even existed. The bridge that gives the town its name is built in two distinct sections: a Roman stretch from the first century, part of the imperial road network, and a medieval extension added in the 14th century when the river's course shifted southward. It is a bridge that crosses two eras simultaneously.

For this route, Ponte de Lima is not simply a beautiful historic town. It is the place where forgetting has a name, where memory was tested in the waters of a river, and where a general called his men by name to prove that the past still existed. On a journey about ancestry and identity, this is an essential crossing.

When to visit: The evocative monument to the Lethes legend stands on both banks of the Lima. A famous azulejo panel by Almada Negreiros, on the corner of the Municipal Market, depicts the crossing. The Roman and medieval bridge is classified as a National Monument.