The municipality of Vila Nova de Poiares was created in 1836 during the reign of D. Maria II and is the result of administrative reorganization reforms of the country, carried out by the “Setembrista” Government, ideologically driven by Passos Manuel. In the beginning, “Santo André de Poyares”, was its first designation.

In 1855, during the reign of D. Pedro V, the municipality was reduced in its geographic area, changing from five to four civil parishes. In 1866 and in 1895 it was even suppressed during a short period of time, but enough to remain in the memory of all the people from Poiares.
Thus, at the time of its restoration, which happened, definitively on January 13th 1898, this date stood as the mark of the independence and autonomy of Poiares.

Land of many traditions and customs, craftwork is one of the ancestral arts of this municipality, where pottery stands out, in addition to other crafts, especially the well-known ‘black clay’, originated in the place of Olho Marinho, but also from Forcado, Alveite Grande and some other places.

The most relevant aspect is the black tone of the pieces resulting from the cooking process, by covering the oven as if it was being muffled. There are countless pieces produced, these objects can have a useful function or just work as an adornment. The most typical ones are: The Caçoilo (Black clay pote) , the Water Jug (water pitcher); the Assadeira (Baking Pan ) and the Cantarinha do Segredo (Secret Jug), All these articles stand out for their durability and heat resistance and according to the way they are produced they have a great impermeability to flavours retention in the containers, without using the glazing technique.