Diana Lourenço is holding court against the backdrop of Porto’s pristine and popular waterfront district. The sky is blue and clear, and the temperature is moderate as flocks of visitors cross the Luís I Bridge – a double-deck metal arch viaduct – transporting them over the River Douro to Porto’s sister city, Vila Nova de Gaia.

Despite Lourenço’s petite frame, the 30-something Portuguese art historian and tour guide – who grew up 3 hours to the south – is both wiry and fiery as she acts-out anecdotes of her country’s antiquity to an array of attentive attendees.

“Like a lot of countries in western Europe, Portugal has been occupied by many invaders over the centuries,” she shares. “Romans, Spanish, Moors, Germanic peoples…it wasn’t until 1974 – with what we call the ‘Carnation Revolution’ – that we developed a true sense of our own identity. When we joined the European Union in 1986, our economy began to flourish, and today we are enjoying a boom in several sectors, especially in tourism.

“We have a different kind of invaders here now, however,” she smiles slyly. “We call them tourists.”

Edgy, animated, and quick-witted, Lourenço is fiercely proud of her roots and her country’s newfound sense of self.

“When travellers visit from other parts of the world, they are often surprised by how different we are as a people. Our culture – our food, fashion, music, literature, theatre, sports, and everything else – is unlike any other on the European continent.”

And while modern Portugal has established itself as a unique society and distinct destination over the past half-century, the presence of its past cannot be simply painted over with a fresh coat of patriotism.

“For better or for worse, our diverse history is everywhere,” acknowledges Lourenço, pointing across the river to the city’s wine markets. “Even the popularity of our national drink, Port, can be attributed to the reach of the British Empire after the English ‘discovered’ the richness of our Douro Valley in the north.”

Like the country’s capital city of Lisbon, Porto – and all of Portugal – was a crossroads of sorts for Europeans coming and going to the new world. That influence is felt most profoundly by the town’s waterfront, where remnants of the region’s robust sailing heritage highlight its cross-cultural roots. That includes the area’s architecture, which reflects the plenitude of foreign peoples that have called Porto home over the years.

“This is quite fascinating,” shares Lourenço as we enter the bustling São Bento train station, where traditional blue and white ceramic tiles ornament the walls.

“These larger mosaics recount some of our history,” she explains. “However, one must examine each individual tile to better understand the bigger picture of who we are.”

Sure enough, a closer inspection of the massive motifs reveals hidden-in-plain-sight symbols from Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, the Middle East, and elsewhere. Interestingly, spaced sporadically in the tiled tales, is the Triskele – a longstanding icon of Celtic culture.

“Yes, the Celts were here,” explains Lourenço. “At one time, they had settlements all across this country.”

Portugal

A quick Wikipedia search confirms Lourenço’s claims.

Early in the first millennium BC, several waves of Celts invaded Portugal from Central Europe and intermarried with the local populations to form several different ethnic groups, with many tribes. The Celtic presence in Portugal is traceable, in broad outline, through archaeological and linguistic evidence.

Along with advances in agricultural and livestock management, the Celts – later identified as Lusitanians – planted their cultural flag firmly on the Iberian Peninsula.

Today, dozens of place names across Portugal are attributed to the Celts. The remains of Celtic settlements (Castros) can still be found in Citania de Briterios, in the northern province of Minho. More empirical evidence is on display at the Matins Sarmento Museum in the nearby city of Guimarães. Elsewhere across the country, the Museu Convento dos Lóios in Santa Maria da Feira houses many Celtic artifacts, while statues of Celtic warriors appear in the region of Terras de Basto, sculptures of pigs and boars dot the landscape of the Tras-os-Montes province, and ruins of circular stone huts remain mostly intact in the town of Viana do Castelo. In addition, traditional bagpipes – known as gaita-de-foles transmontane – are honoured during annual festivals in Miranda do Douro.

“The Celtic presence in Portugal,” continues Lourenço, “is strongest in the north, near Galicia.”

Spain

 Spain’s Celtic roots have been well-documented in Celtic Life International over the years.

Today, it is believed some Celtic tribes migrated, not invaded, the Iberian Peninsula from about 1000 – 300 BC in two migratory waves: 900 BC and 700 – 600 BC. The first wave of Celts established themselves in Catalonia, the eastern coastal area of the Iberian Peninsula, and entered by way of the Pyrenees Mountains. The later groups of Celts traveled west through the Pyrenees to inhabit the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula and south beyond the Ebro and Duero River basins and as far as the Tagus River valley. These tribes are known today as Celtiberians, a name given to them by the Romans who invaded around 45 BC. and encountered them living there. Celtiberians spoke a definite Celtiberian language, as attested by the ancient Celtic text, Botorrita Inscription, found on the Iberian Peninsula. Original Celtic sites of some settlements today in Spain are identified by “-briga” ending to the name of the town or village. What does remain today of Celtic ruins is mostly in the northwestern peninsula, especially in Galicia and Asturias.

The name Galicia, specifically, means “Land of the Gaelic People”, and many of the region’s residents speak Galician, a hybrid of Spanish and Gaelic/Scottish languages.

However, the neighbouring province of Asturias also has a strong, although often overlooked, Celtic history – so strong, in fact, that many have called for it to be officially recognized as the 8th Celtic nation. Several Celtic settlements – including the Towers Cape, which remained a Celtic stronghold for almost 800 years, and Campa Torres, which was inhabited for centuries by the Celtic people of the Cylurni – testify to the area’s ancestry.

The Celtic peoples, known as the Astures, were comprised of numerous tribes, including the Luggones, the Pesicos, and others. Today, many villages in Asturias are called Belenos (after the Celtic God Belenus) and, despite centuries of decline, about 1,000 Celtic words remain a part of the territory’s dialect.

The most obvious vestige, however, is the Asturian bagpipe, or gaita, which has much in common with the traditional bagpipes of other Celtic nations.

“I am Celtic, and I play the Asturian bagpipes,” says Bras Rodrigo, who was born and bred in Asturias. “I also play the Scottish and Galician bagpipes as well.”

The gaita asturiana is not unlike the more familiar Scottish pipes, though its dimensions are longer than other regional cousins of the same key, and it is characterized by different finger hole placements that allow it to hit various octaves via a technique called requintar.

“I was inspired by its sound,” shares the 40-something musician. “Below my house, they taught bagpipes. One day, as a youngster, I was walking with my grandfather and heard something special. Without having even seen the instrument, I told him that I wanted to play what I was hearing. It turns out it was a bagpipe.”

Over three decades later, Rodrigo plays the pipes professionally in concert, records albums, and teaches younger pipers.

“For me, the challenge is in helping new generations better understand the ancient history of the bagpipe. I want my students and to appreciate that tradition, while at the same time being innovative and adapting the sound and music to popular culture. It is important that we have an idea of both where we come from and where we are going.”

Fernán Morán, President of the Asturian Celtic League, believes that his culture needs to be nurtured and celebrated both at home and abroad.

“Asturies has occupied the same territory for more than 2,800 years,” he explains. “All the parameters of Asturian culture are Celtic: folklore, mythology, archaeology, history, crafts, etc.”

Today, Asturians hold an array of annual Celtic events to showcase the strength of that culture.

“In the capital of Oviedo, every Saturday and Sunday from May through October, there are parades of bagpipe bands in the city centre,” shares Morán. “There is food, beer, cider, and literary events. There are also Celtic crafts and gold and silver markets.

“In fact, the very name Asturias comes from the Celtic root Stour, which means river – a name that is often seen elsewhere in Europe.”

Italy

While both the origins and the emigration patterns of the Celtic people and culture remain up for debate amongst both academics and everyday scholars, there is evidence to suggest that they first rose to prominence during Europe’s Bronze Age (3200 BC – 600 BC). It is believed that by 700 BC – 500 BC, hundreds of loosely bound tribes – united by a similar language and pagan practices – came together in the Hallstatt region of Austria. From there, they moved westward through Germany, Switzerland, and France, eventually settling in what we now know as the British Isles – England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man.

However, some tribes broke off, heading east to the area now called Eastern Europe – Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovenia. Today, these people are known as the Balkan Celts. A few even made it as far as Turkey and the Middle East.

Still others went south to scour the coastlines along the Mediterranean Sea, establishing outposts in Greece (who coined the moniker, Keltoi, meaning barbarians), and Italy.

Warriors by nature, the Celts (specifically, the Gallic tribe, or Gauls from France and northwestern Spain) captured Rome in 390 B.C. after the Battle of the Allia. The Romans rallied in 225 BC, retaking the city, and re-establishing the base of their expansive empire. A century later, Julius Caesar erected a fortress around the capital with a circumference of 20 kilometers. His 8-year, 30-battle confrontation with Celts destroyed over 800 villages and wiped-out over a million people across the region, including an estimated 250,000 of the Helveteii tribe alone.

While the majority of Celts were either slaughtered or driven out by their aggressors, and there are little traces of the Celtic language remaining in Italy today, remnants of their culture continue to linger across the country.

Just southwest of Venice, the annual Bundan Celtic Festival has drawn over 30,000 people to the Rocca di Stellata on the River Po for the past 16 years. According to the event’s website, the point of “organizing a historical re-enactment of the Celtic period in the Po delta area is because few know that the Celts were among the first and most important inhabitants of our lands that the Romans called Gallia Cisalpina and whose people called themselves Gallic until the late Middle Ages.”

A few hours south by car, near Perugia, the Montelago Celtic Festival brings tens of thousands of Celts together each August for three days of celebration.

Organizers Maurizio Serafini and Luciano Monceri founded the event in 2002.

“We are from the Marche region of central Italy,” says Serafini, “which, before the expansion of the Roman Empire, was a territory inhabited by Celtic tribes called Gauls. There are many archaeological remains that bear witness to their presence – from the discovery of jewelry at Sassoferrato, in the central province of Ancona, to fortification ruins on the hilltops around Montelago and Colfiorito, where the festival is held. It is therefore quite appropriate for a Celtic festival to take place in the Marche on the Colfiorito plateau.

“The festival began as a one-night show under the administration of the Province of Macerata,” pipes-in Monceri. “It immediately drew a crowd of 5,000 and later became an annual, autonomous initiative. That first Celtic Night has become a bona fide festival, offering the opportunity to spend the whole weekend in campers and tents on an alpine plateau 800 meters above sea level. In addition to the concerts, festivalgoers can enjoy a Celtic craft market, thematic conferences, music, dance and traditional craft workshops, Celtic games, a rugby tournament, the art of divination, Celtic weddings, paragliding, horse-riding, and battle re-enactments. In addition, through the internet and social forums, a genuine Montelago community has emerged, constantly participating in discussions on programs and services.”

Monceri adds that, in addition to the main event, their Celtic community produces year-round Celtic-themed events.

“In the winter, theaters, auditoriums, and schools are used for music festivals, courses in violin making, dance, music, literary meetings and conferences, and television and radio broadcasts.

Today, the Montelago Celtic Festival remains the biggest Celtic cultural event in Italy. And while its numbers continue to grow, they still pale in comparison to the world’s largest Celtic festival 1800 kilometers to the northwest.

France

He may be one of the busiest men in Bretagne, but Lisardo Lombardia is happy to take a few moments to wax philosophically on his favourite topic.

“Everyone always takes note of the melodic qualities of Celtic music,” muses the former Executive Director of Bretagne’s Festival Interceltique de Lorient, who retired from his position in 2021 but remains involved with the annual gathering. “And that is understandable – the voice, fiddle, and especially the pipes, are so prominent.

“Me, though – I always hear the pulse of a song first. The rhythmic instruments, especially the drums and the bodhran, are the foundation of the music, sitting below the melody lines, keeping the tempo like a heartbeat.”

As the longstanding heart and soul of the world’s biggest Celtic festival – which attracts nearly one million visitors to Bretagne’s beautiful southwest coast each year – Lombardia is more than qualified to speak to the subject of its soundtrack.

“We have had some of the biggest names of the genre have performed at the gathering over the last 52 years,” he continues. “Alan Stivell, the Chieftains, Natalie MacMaster, the Dubliners – too many to recall. And one thing I noticed about those great musicians, and some of the very good new artists, is they all have very tight rhythm sections. If the pacing – that heartbeat – is sound and strong, then everything else falls into place.”

Things are falling into place nicely for this year’s festival, which takes place from August 4 to 13. Along with another star-studded line-up of performers – including Clannad, Altan, Talisk, Danu, Suzanne Vega, and others from the seven Celtic nations and beyond – the event will again showcase a wealth of local and regional talent.

And if all that music wasn’t enough, the ten-day gathering brings a mélange of other Celtic cultural components into the mix, including parades, dancing, theatre, literature, cinema, cuisine, competitions, and more.

Lombardia explains that, since its inception, Interceltique has always strived to integrate an array of influences.

“At the heart of it is the idea that what it means to be Celtic today is up for negotiation. How do we define ourselves as a people? And how do we redefine ourselves for the modern world? Are we cross-Celtic? Pan-Celtic? That concept has become a bit of a moving target.”

He adds that, as the classification of Celtic has evolved, so has the festival.

“It has opened the door to greater opportunities for us; today we have acts from all over the world, playing styles of music that you perhaps wouldn’t have heard just a generation ago – Euro-Celt, Afric-Celt, Celt-Asian, etc. This ongoing, organic cross-pollination of cultures will continue to present all sorts of exciting possibilities for us in the future.”

While Lombardia’s enthusiasm for fresh sounds keeps the festival going forward, he is careful to keep one foot firmly in the past.

“We know where we come from. Our roots are deeply embedded in Celtic Europe, and everything that has sprouted and grown here in Lorient over the last 52 years has come from that rich soil.”

Digging in the dirt

Recent archaeological surveys across the northern belt of mainland Europe have confirmed that the Celts inhabited large areas of land there from the 8th to 1st centuries BC.

In Germany, sites at Duensberg, Glauberg and Altkoenig/Heidetraenk-Oppidum in Germany have revealed the remains of large residences and fortresses dating back to 200 BC – 100 BC. And, in 2010, researchers found the opulent grave of a Celtic princess close to an early Celtic settlement near Heuneburg dated to the same period.

In Hallstatt, Austria – a lakeside village southeast of Salzburg – a Celtic burial site containing 1300 graves, dating back to the 8th century BC, was discovered in 1846.

Switzerland’s La Tène culture is named after a Celtic site located on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel that developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (450 BC). Thousands of Celtic artifacts were found in the lake after the water level dropped unexpectedly in 1857.

Belgium takes its name from the Belgae, an early Celtic tribe that were later displaced by both the Romans (1st century BC) and Germanic warriors (5th century AD).

In Luxembourg, newly found sites at Titelberg and in the Moselle Valley suggest that the Celts were highly organized and industrious as master metalworkers. In addition, tombs found at Niederanven, Grosbous, Flaxweiler, and Altrier – which date back to between 450 BC and 250 BC – indicate elaborate death ceremonies.

As with Luxembourg, scholars have been arguing about the Celtic presence in the Netherlands for decades. However, silver, gold, and copper Celtic coins found in Echt, Zutphen, and in the Amby area of Maastricht (dating from around 50 BC to 20 AD) seem to have put an end to those debates. As far as we know, this is as far north as the Celts travelled in Western Europe.

And while the Celtic peoples – along with their language – have long since vacated these places, their culture lives on in the hundreds of Celtic-themed events, societies, dance schools, and more that can be found across the region.

Coda

Back on the Porto waterfront, Diana Lourenço speaks as we begin the steep climb back up to the city center.

“Near here, we have the Sanfins de Ferreira. There are fortress walls and about 100 shelters, all of which can be traced back to the Celtic peoples.”

The city’s residents honour that heritage each spring with the Porto Interceltic Festival. Established in 1986, the 10-day gathering brings together traditional artists and artisans from around the world for a unique celebration of Celtic culture.

“All the Irish pubs here are packed day and night during the festival. It does sort of align with St. Patrick’s Day, and our local Irish dance school even puts on a few public performances, so everyone parties like a Celt here for a week or so.”

I ask her what it means to be Celtic.

“My studies in Western European art and history did cover the Celtic eras. As you can imagine, with hundreds of different tribes travelling around the European mainland for hundreds of years, there is a significant amount of material, and researchers continue to uncover more each year. From what I understand, the Celts were originally nomadic warrior tribes that, once united, evolved into a peaceful and progressive people.

“For example, it is mind-blowing to think that Celtic women enjoyed the same rights as men and that they flourished in their roles as political, business, and military leaders, especially given the violent and oppressive nature of the times.

“And the Celts practiced an early form of inclusivity; when foreign tribes appeared on their doorsteps they were welcomed into the Celtic community. The Celts were also very respectful of other lifestyle choices – religion, sexuality, etc. – which was a far-cry from what other cultures were like then.”

I point out that the symbols used to comprise the Celtic Cross represent an amalgamation of two belief systems: the Christian cross and the Celtic (Pagan) sun.

“Absolutely,” nods Lourenço. “I have seen that sense of openness in much of their art – mostly in images and sculptures that reflect their closeness to the cycles of the natural world. They were, by all accounts, ahead of their time.”

Over the ensuing 2500 years, those peaceful principles have quietly trickled down through much of Western Europe. I note that the modern world could use a few of those spiritual stars by which to steer its ship.

“Oh yes,” agrees Lourenço. “Thankfully, that Celtic influence is still with us – their music, dance, dress, food, and, perhaps most importantly, their ideas. The rhythms of their lifestyle have remained like a heartbeat over the millennia, pumping the blood of life into people on the European continent.”

Share: