On November 11, 2017, dignitaries unveiled a statue of Queen Dona Teresa of Portugal in commemoration of the nine hundredth anniversary of the signing of the “Carta de Couto de Osseloa,” which inaugurated a hospice or inn (‘albergaria’ in Portuguese) on the Portuguese Royal Road in the town known today as Albargaria-a-Velha. The statue, by the local sculptor Hélder Bandarra, is cast in bronze, measures two meters in height, and stands on a granite base. It is located next to the old Royal Road (Lisbon-Coimbra-Porto), a few meters from the original albergaria (hostel or inn), in front of the Praça D. Teresa and at the head of the future Avenida D. Teresa. Attendees were reminded that the original purpose of the albergaria was to aid travelers along the road, as the town continues to do today, and that the signed document is the the first recorded instance in which D. Teresa refers to herself as Queen. The Queen is depicted with a stylus in her right hand and a scroll in her left, recalling the signing of the charter. Her royal signature is also created on the base of the statue.
