During the Peninsular War (1807-1814), Portugal was invaded by French armies on three occasions. In March 1809, the French Marshal Soult (1769-1851) began the second invasion through the northern corridor. On May 17, 1809, faced with the Anglo-Portuguese army under the command of British Marshal Sir Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), the French army retreated, passing near Montalegre on the way to Serra do Larouco. The following day, May 18, Wellesley's forces camped in the Alto-Cávado valley near Montalegre. The English commander sent a report to the Portuguese Marshal Miguel Pereira Forjaz (1769-1827), informing that Soult's army, fleeing to Ourense (Spain), had destroyed its own artillery and baggage, abandoning the sick, wounded and prisoners.

A few weeks ago, on a cold and snowy day, while visiting Montalegre, I went up to the castle and the adjacent cemetery. From there, we can see a magnificent view to the north, looking down at the Cávado River and in front of the Serra do Larouco.

I imagined what happened on May 17-18, 1809, when Montalegre witnessed the passage of the fleeing French army and then the Anglo-Portuguese troops. How much suffering and misfortune can be "buried" in a landscape that today seems peaceful and magnificent?

Seven images taken side-by-side were assembled to obtain a panorama. The zoom lens was set at 70mm in order to minimize image distortion. They were captured in RAW format and converted to JPG using the same adjustments.