Ilhavo

Ilhavo, a seaport in the district of Aveiro, formerly included in the province of Beira, Portugal, 3 m. S.W. of Aveiro (q.v.), on the lagoon of Aveiro, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. Pop. (1900) 12,617. Ilhavo is inhabited chiefly by fishermen, but has a celebrated manufactory of glass and porcelain, the Vista-Alegre, at which the art of glass-cutting has reached a high degree of perfection. Salt is largely exported. Ilhavo is celebrated for the beauty of its women. It is said to have been founded by Greek colonists about 400 B.C., but this tradition is of doubtful validity.