The Fort of Leça da Palmeira (Portuguese: Forte de Leça da Palmeira), or alternately the Castle of Matosinhos (Portuguese: Castelo de Matosinhos) is a 17th-century fort located in civil parish of Leça da Palmeira, municipality of Matosinhos in the Greater Porto region of Portugal.

History

The fort was begun in 1638 in the area known as Santa Catarina by João Sá e Meneses, then Count of Penaguião, which they initially designated as the Forte de Nossa Senhora das Neves da Barra de Leça (Fort of Our Layd of the Snows of the Leça Sandbar). The objective of this fortification was to reinforce the sandbar of the mouth of the Douro, in conjunction with the Fort of São Francisco Xavier do Queijo, and the Fort of São João da Foz.

With the beginning of the Portuguese Restoration War in 1640, the conclusion of the project took on a greater importance. But, by 1642, the fort was not yet completed, such that officials of the municipal council of Porto petitioned King John IV to force the quick conclusion of the public works. The construction only continued in 1646, and two years later the first garrison of six soldiers was instituted by royal order. But, the establishment of the garrison did not mean the construction was concluded. In 1655, a new petition was sent to the King, yet the construction would drag onto the next century.

In 1701, the fort, still uncompleted, was home for a larger group of soldiers, artillery emplacements and four cannons. It was only in 1720 that the fort was finally completed.

During the Liberal Wars, around 1832, the fort had suffered some damage, and reconstruction were completed in the warehouses, the drawbridge, internal staircase and the parapets. A few years later, the fort lost its military function, with the removal of the garrison, and in 1844 the main square became the location of the customs house of Porto.

In the 20th century, the fort was transferred to the Captaincy of the Port of Leixões, where they installed their services.

In 1962, a landscaping project was completed by Ilídio de Araújo, who beautified the grounds and area around the fort.

Forte de Nossa Senhora das Neves

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Fort of São Francisco do Queijo (Portuguese: Forte de São Francisco do Queijo), frequently shortened to Castle of the Cheese (Portuguese: Castelo do Queijo) is a fortification situated along the coast of the civil parish of Nevogilde in the northern Portuguese municipality of Porto.

History

In early era of settlement, the rocky area of Queijo was sacred to the Draganes, a Celtic tribe that arrived in the 6th century.

The fortification was likely constructed sometime in the 15th century, over the primitive structure that already existed. King John IV of Portugal ordered the construction of a new fort in 1643, designed by French military engineer Miguel de l'Ècole, and directed by Fernando César de Carvalhais Negreiros, then Captain of the Royal Armada (Portuguese: Capitão da Armada Real).

No one knows when the Castle of São Francisco Xavier was founded; it is presumed to be between 1661 and 1662, when the coast was under threat of the armada of Galicia.
Judges and municipal aldermen for the city of Porto, captain António Pires Picão and various other carrack and caravel captains arrived at the conclusion in 1643 that the fort was badly located, owing to a lack of safe area for disembarking. This as the area was rocky and influenced by strong waters. Friar João Turriano, engineer of the Kingdom, was asked to give his opinion and he determined that that fortification should be constructed away from the site, in the locality of Pedra do Queijo (using the existing materials).

During the Restoration Wars, the fort was rebuilt (at the expense of the city), at a time when citizenry feared attacks from squadrons of Spanish fleets.

By 1717, the city of Porto was responsible for the maintenance of the fort, a heavy burden for municipal coffers, and forcing the town council to petition King John V of Portugal to decommission the fort, owing to its superfluous need. As they mentioned, the fort:

was a great expense in the Coffers of the City, in the payment of officials that were created to assist the said Castle, where they don't reside, taking advantage of the convenience of the land.
Yet, the King's Council of War, indifferent to the suggest, maintained the fortress active. In 1751, a private chapel was constructed to assist military officers serving at the site.

On 11 April 1758, abbey Manoel da Silva Pereira, referred to a lieutenant (as captain/commander), a constable, Sargent, 11 artillerymen stationed at the fort, including unspecified soldiers that were sent to the fort time-to-time, which pertained to the regiment in Porto. But, by 1804 its usefulness had waned, and could not fulfill its function, given military tactics of the time. Between 1807 and 1811, during the French invasion, the fort was not used in a defensive role.

During the siege of Porto (1832-1833), Miguelist forces occupied the fort until Lordelo, even as they were confronted by batteries and the Liberal navy. By the end of the civil war the fort was destroyed. In August 1860, a plan of the fort included drawbridge, residence of the Governor, chapel in ruins, housing for military officers also in ruins, a ramp to the esplanade, moat, areas inundated by the sea, four quarters for soldiers, kitchen, powder magazine and a vaulted house for quarters. It was assigned for the Veterans Company (1839), during the revolt of Maria da Fonte (1846), and occupied by troops from the Junta of Porto, and was bombarded by the frigate Íris, supporting the government of Maria II.

Between 1890 and 1910 it was in the possession of the Guarda Fiscal (Fiscal Guard).

In 1934 it was classified as a Property of Public Interest.

The Municipal Commission for Art and Archaeology (Portuguese: Comissão Municipal de Arte e Arqueologia) proposed that the fort be adapted for the use as a museum in 1938. Following restoration work in 1942, the fort was once again abandoned, and the spaces were reactivated in 1943 during the course of the World War, when anti-aircraft batteries were installed, fearing German attacks. In order to collect funds to assist the paying for a permanent guard, the fort's doors were opened to the public: the fort was used as overlook, for a charge one escudo.

The Junta Freguesia of Nevogilde installed some services in the fort in April 1944. Immediately, within the year, the junta received orders to remove the equipment from the site by the Direcção Geral da Fazenda Pública (General Directorate for Public Finances), which provoked indignation by the city council. But, by 1949 the Junta de Freguesia continued to have their installations in the fort. They shared the spaces with a naval brigade from the Portuguese Legion, remaining there until 25 April 1974. Between 1977 and 1978, the post was held by northern commandos.

On 26 April 1961, the site was included in the Special Protection Zone. On 24 September 2008, the DRCNorte proposed that the fort be included in the maritime promenade and Avenida de Montevideu designation which, by 7 January 2009, was accepted by the consultative council of IGESPAR.

Architecture

The fort is situated on a dominant position over the ocean, a short distance from the mouth of the Douro and Leça Rivers. To the northeast is the city park connected directly to the sea.

The trapezoidal fortress is situated over a cliff, circled by a dry moat and areas that become inundated during high tide. The high walls are constructed with granite masonry in regular sloping rows, surmounted by a rounded frieze and topped by irregular battlements. Along the pentagonal facades are watchtowers resting on triangular corbels of stepped logs. The watchtowers are supported on cornices and formed into molded, round domes addorsed to the corners. The main facade (oriented towards the southeast) includes wall broken by main gate with rounded arch accessed by wooden drawbridge, over corbels. Over the portal, and interrupting the cornice, is the coat-of-arms of Portugal, surmounted by royal crown, under a granite sphere. Flanking the relief stone are vertical grooves reinforced by iron frame, from which hang the supporting chains of the drawbridge.

A rounded niche on the left, in granite masonry, shelters a representation in stone of the St. Francis Xavier, and to the right a similar niche houses an image of the Virgin Mary. The tunnel connects to the courtyard, covered with metal grids and glass plates, that provide access to bar, powder magazine covered in barrel vault, stairs, balconies and gateways to the remaining dependencies. From the lobby there is an access ramp to the upper deck.

An oratory, to the invocation of St. Francis Xavier was located within the hall of the former-residence of commander of the fort.

Fort of São Francisco do Queijo

O Forte de São João Baptista da Foz, também conhecido como Castelo de São João da Foz, localiza-se na freguesia de Foz do Douro, no concelho e Distrito do Porto, em Portugal.

Ergue-se em posição dominante na barra do rio Douro, guarnecendo o acesso fluvial à cidade do Porto.

História

Iniciado durante o reinado de D. Sebastião (1557-1578), em 1570, sob a supervisão de João Gomes da Silva, diplomata e homem de confiança da Corte (autoria do mestre de fortificações Simão de Ruão, filho de João de Ruão), constituía-se numa simples estrutura abaluartada, envolvendo o hospício (mosteiro) e a igreja dos beneditinos de Santo Tirso (Igreja Velha) antigas estruturas medievais.

O bispo de Viseu, D. Miguel da Silva edificou neste local uma igreja e paço abacial anexo, para os quais recorreu aos projectos do arquitecto Francesco de Cremona recrutado em Itália; conjuntamente com o Farol de São Miguel-o-Anjo (concluído em 1527), que dista do local poucas centenas de metros, resultaram da sua acção mecenática e constituíram a primeira manifestação de arquitectura renascentista no Norte de Portugal (a capela-mor e nave da igreja, com o envolvimento da estrutura abaluartada e o desmonte da cobertura, funcionaram como praça de armas do forte).

Com a Guerra da Restauração da independência impôs-se a remodelação da fortificação. Receando uma invasão espanhola pela fronteira norte do reino, o rei D. João IV (1640-56), em 1642 despachou para a cidade do Porto o novo Engenheiro-mor do Reino, o francês Charles Lassart. Este teve oportunidade de constatar, in loco, a ineficácia da estrutura seiscentista diante dos meios ofensivos setecentistas, e elaborou-lhe um novo projeto que a ampliava e reforçava. As obras ficaram a cargo do jesuíta João Turriano. Entretanto, problemas suscitados pela fonte dos recursos junto à Câmara Municipal do Porto e problemas pessoais do Tenente-governador da fortificação Pinto de Matos (1643-1645) atrasaram sensívelmente o início das obras.

Com a nomeação de Martim Gonçalves da Câmara, como substituto de Pinto de Matos (Maio de 1646), as obras foram finalmente iniciadas, com a demolição da Igreja Velha no mesmo ano. Tornadas prioritárias diante a invasão do Minho por tropas espanholas, encontravam-se concluídas em 1653. Dois anos mais tarde, era considerada a segunda do Reino, logo após a de São Julião, e a chave dela [cidade do Porto] com a qual não só se [a] assegurava mas toda a Província do Entre-Douro e Minho e a da Beira. Ao final do século XVII, em 1684 estava guarnecida por 22 artilheiros, congregando seis regimentos de Cavalaria e dezoito de Infantaria.

No início do século XIX durante a Guerra Peninsular, a 6 de Junho de 1808, o Sargento-mor Raimundo José Pinheiro ocupou as suas instalações, e, na madrugada seguinte, fez hastear no seu mastro a bandeira das Quinas, primeiro ato de reação portuguesa contra a ocupação napoleônica. A fortificação estaria envolvida poucos anos mais tarde nas Revoltas liberais, tendo protegido, durante o cerco do Porto (1832-1833), o desembarque de suprimentos para a cidade.

Diante da evolução das embarcações e da artilharia, progressivamente perdeu a função defensiva, sendo utilizada como prisão para presos políticos. Entre os nomes ilustres que estiveram detidos nos seus cárceres, relancionam-se os de José de Seabra da Silva (à época do Marquês de Pombal) e os liberais José de Passos Manuel e duque da Terceira.

No século XX foi residência da poetisa Florbela Espanca, esposa de um dos oficiais da guarnição. Recentemente, na primeira metade da década de 1990, o monumento sofreu intervenção arqueológica sob a responsabilidade do Gabinete de Arqueologia Urbana da Divisão de Museus e Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico da Câmara Municipal do Porto. Atualmente sedia o Instituto da Defesa Nacional.

Características

No século XVII, o projecto de Lassart, embora modificando a orgânica da estrutura, não tocava no essencial da defesa quinhentista. A antiga igreja, inserida na área militar, foi demolida, desaparecendo a parte central da fachada, sendo abertas as torres, removidas as lajes das campas no seu pavimento (reaproveitadas na alvenaria) e apeada a abóbada (a primeira em estilo renascentista do país). Agora a céu aberto, passou a servir como praça de armas, enquanto os seus anexos foram soterrados para consolidar o terrapleno do baluarte leste. Os nichos dos altares laterais foram entaipados por muros de alvenaria de pedra.

A partir da realidade imposta pela irregularidade do terreno e pela fortificação preexistente, a planta da nova estrutura apresenta o formato de um quadrilátero retangular orgânico com três baluartes e um meio baluarte, concentrando o fogo da artilharia pelo lado de terra, dadas as dificuldades naturais de transposição da barra do rio Douro. O único baluarte de traçado regular é o que aponta para a barra; dos dois voltados para o lado de terra, o do leste, é excepcionalmente pontiagudo, terminando num esporão de grande altura, enquanto que do oeste prolonga-se por um espigão destinado a eliminar um ângulo morto, atualmente quase encoberto pelo aterro viário.

O novo portal de acesso ao forte, em estilo neoclássico, foi construído pelo Engenheiro Reinaldo Oudinot (1796), dotado de ponte levadiça, corredor de entrada acasamatado e corpo de guarda tapando a fachada palaciana no lugar de um revelim seiscentista. Esta foi a última obra promovida, embora ainda se encontrasse incompleta em 1827.

Forte de São João Baptista da Foz

This site's religious origins date back to the 10th century when a mixed convent for both nuns and monks was founded by the Order of St. Benedict and dedicated to Salvador. In the 12th century, the monastery was donated to the Order of the Hospital by queen Teresa simultaneously acquiring hunting rights. These were subsequently confirmed by king Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, and his successors.

Major construction work was carried out in the 14th century by Brother Estevão Vasques Pimentel resulting in the monastery that has survived until today. Its gothic appearance takes on a defensive nature given the battlements and the tall, quadrangular tower representing a good example of artistic transition from Romanesque to Gothic. After this rebuilding, the church was rededicated to Our Lady of Incarnation. In 1372, the church hosted the royal wedding between king Fernando and Leonor Teles.

Inside, the imposing impact of the stone is maintained throughout the three naves containing a wonderful heritage of medieval tombs. Of the contents, highlights include the graves unmarked apart from the coats of arms of the Almeida and Vasconcelos families in the main chapel, the recumbent tomb of Brother João Coelho, grand-master of the Order of the Hospital, carried out by Diogo Pires o Moço (the young), who also completed the Baptismal Font located in the lateral apse and the unmarked grave of founder Brother Estevão Vasques (1336). The latter features an unusual depiction of the Annunciation where the Boy Jesus "flies" from the Eternal Father to the embrace of Mary.

https://www.visitportugal.com

Mosteiro de Leça do Balio

O Palacete Pinto Leite, originalmente conhecido como Casa do Campo Pequeno, situado na rua da Maternidade (antiga rua do Campo Pequeno), é uma residência burguesa do século XIX, mandada construir por Joaquim Pinto Leite, da abastada família portuense Pinto Leite, em meados do século XIX. Em 1966, o palacete foi adquirido aos herdeiros pela Câmara Municipal do Porto, para se instalar o Conservatório de Música, o que só veio a acontecer em 1975.
Devoluto desde 2008 com a saída do Conservatório de Música do Porto, em 2016 o município colocou o palacete em hasta pública, pelo preço base de 1,55 milhões de euros, para fins "exclusivamente de natureza cultural, artística ou afins". Foi arrematado pela irrisória quantia de 1,643 milhões de euros a uma empresa de António Oliveira e António Moutinho Cardoso, coleccionador de arte que promete ali criar um "ex-libris" cultural aberto à cidade.
Em 2019, António Oliveira, abandonou o projeto cultural e cedeu a sua posição (50%) ao sócio, António Moutinho Cardoso.
Após as obras de adaptação, o palacete deverá acolher residências artísticas, exposições temporárias e a coleção de mais de 300 quadros de pintores contemporâneos de Moutinho Cardoso.
Família Pinto Leite
A família Pinto Leite foi uma das mais influentes do Porto, e do país, em meados do século XIX. A sua visibilidade social era muito forte no Porto da época.
Joaquim Pinto Leite era vice-presidente da Associação Civilizadora, em 1846 e pertenceu à comissão organizadora das festas de S. João no Bairro dos Clérigos, em 1849. Doou 24$000 para as obras do Hospital da Trindade, em 1853. Nesse mesmo ano, ofereceu à Câmara Municipal da cidade uma nova bomba de incêndios.
Seu irmão, José Pinto Leite, doou a quantia de um conto de réis para o fundo e socorro aos afectados pela febre amarela em Lisboa, no ano de 1857. Casada com o tio Sebastião Pinto Leite, a filha de José Pinto Leite, Clementina Libânia Pinto Leite, Condessa da Penha Longa e Viscondessa da Gandarinha, também exerceu por várias vezes a caridade pública, nomeadamente nos anos de 1860 e 1861, destinando parte do solar e da propriedade da Gandarinha para a criação do Asilo da Gandarinha, actualmente Fundação Condessa de Penha Longa.
Alguns dos membros desta família ocuparam um espaço central na sociedade portuense e nacional em diferentes épocas. Sebastião Pinto Leite, 1.º Conde de Penha Longa e 1.º Visconde da Gandarinha foi empresário agrícola e comercial e político; Júlio Pinto Leite, 2.º Visconde dos Olivais jure uxoris e 1.º Conde dos Olivais, empresário comercial; Licínio Pinto Leite, banqueiro e político português; José Pinto Leite, 2.º Conde dos Olivais e 2.º Conde de Penha Longa, académico e desportista; José Pedro Pinto Leite, empresário e político português, foi o dirigente da Ala Liberal, sendo substituído, após a sua morte, por Sá Carneiro.
No âmbito económico, os Pinto Leite revestiram-se de uma importância fundamental para a cidade do Porto. Estavam ligados a grandes negócios e à alta finança, tendo sido das poucas famílias portuenses que se instalaram com filiais comerciais em Inglaterra. As marcas desta grande capacidade económica ainda hoje perduram no Porto, nomeadamente no palacete da família Pinto Leite, mais conhecido como Casa do Campo Pequeno e nos sumptuosos jazigos da família nos Cemitérios da Irmandade da Lapa, no Porto, e dos Prazeres, em Lisboa.
O local onde se situa o Palacete foi inicialmente conhecido como Campo Pequeno, ficando paredes-meias com a Maternidade Júlio Dinis. Local residencial de Ingleses, bem referidos por Júlio Dinis em Uma Família Inglesa, estando então rodeado por terrenos agrícolas e quintas, a propriedade do Campo Pequeno foi adquirida por Joaquim Pinto Leite em 1854.
A família possuiu outras residências em Lisboa, no Porto ou em Oliveira de Azeméis. Destacam-se, assim, além do palacete Pinto Leite ou Casa do Campo Pequeno, no Porto; o Palacete dos Viscondes e Condes Olivais e Penha Longa (mais conhecido como Palacete da Lapa), na Lapa, Lisboa; o Palacete dos Viscondes dos Olivais, em Lisboa; a Quinta da Gandarinha, em Oliveira de Azeméis; a Quinta do Tronco, no Porto e a Quinta da Penha Longa, em Sintra, que já havia sido propriedade do Marechal João Carlos de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun, 1.º Conde de Saldanha, 1.º Marquês de Saldanha e 1.º Duque de Saldanha.
O edifício
Desconhece-se o autor do projecto, mas pelo estilo neopalladiano presume-se que tenha tido influências inglesas, contrário ao gosto da arquitectura portuense do século XIX, mais na influência das belas-artes francesas. Os azulejos que recobrem o edifício são originários de uma fábrica inglesa, a Minton, Hollings & Company, de Stoke-on-Trent.
Nesta casa apalaçada, Joaquim Pinto Leite plasmou uma ideia inovadora, em que a influência britânica é por demais evidente. Em primeiro lugar, refira-se que a escolha de um local no Campo Pequeno, junto ao cemitério inglês, não deve ter sido inocente.
Presume-se que Joaquim Pinto Leite pretendesse uma casa relativamente grande, onde toda a família pudesse hospedar-se, incluindo alguns dos irmãos que não residissem habitualmente no Porto. Pretendia também uma casa que seguisse modelos ingleses, tendo encarregue os irmãos que ali se tinham estabelecido de fazer uma prospecção de alguns exemplos que pudessem servir de modelo. Segundo a tradição familiar, Joaquim Pinto Leite esteve para comprar o Palácio dos Carrancas, o que não se concretizou provavelmente devido à vontade do rei D. Pedro V em adquiri-lo para residência real na cidade, alegando posteriormente ser demasiado grande.
Há notícia de que, em 1866, celebrou-se no palacete o casamento entre Orísia Pinto Leite e Arsénio Pinto Leite, primos e ambos moradores no dito palacete. Não é demais sublinhar que, nesta família, o casamento entre primos foi comum. A impressa da época elogia a casa, sóbria mas elegantíssima, comparando-a a uma rica moradia no melhor bairro de Londres.
O edifício possuía quartos de banhos principescamente luxuosos e tecnicamente inovadores, contando com torneiras banhadas a ouro e sanitários em porcelana de Sèvres. No exterior, ainda existe um pavilhão ou casa de fresco, espaço de lazer, também conhecido como casa das bonecas e uma estufa de floricultura.
Actualmente, a decoração da Casa do Campo Pequeno está marcada por modificações do início do século XX, que a tornaram menos sóbria aproximando-a das casas ricas da cidade. O seu carácter singular foi-se diluindo.

Pinto Leite Palace

The Walls of Dom Fernando (Portuguese: Muralhas de D. Fernando), or Fernandine Walls (Portuguese: Muralhas Fernandinas), are medieval fortifications located in the civil parish of Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória, in the municipality of Porto, Portuguese Porto.

History

Construction of a series of walls began in 1336 in the reign of King D. Afonso IV on the foundations of a small "circus" that encircled the area of smaller dimensions, reflecting the great development of the burg. The basis of these new walls were marked by an inscription dating 1348 over the gate of Postigo do Carvão. This Romanesque wall, was constructed in the 12th century, corresponding to the administrative and urbanistic consolidation of Porto,  after a long period of dispersed population. Of this structure, there are important remains that were not destroyed in the intervening years. Encircling the Sé's wall (the centre of the medieval town) is an irregular oval, cut by four principal gates, among them the Gate of Vandoma (that was demolished by the municipal council in 1885). The difference between the Romanesque walls and the ones constructed in the 14th century developed in the course of 200 years, as the population grew to about 10000 inhabitants. The city developed in all directions, but primarily towards the west and north, linked by the elevated bridges of Vitória and Batalha; its growth is easily recognizable in the urban relief. The main line is located in the east, easily visible from the bridge Ponte D. Luís, and comprises a section of walls with road, protected by two rectangular towers.

"The location of the gates of the new wall leaves it very clear the outline of the primitive lines that, of the burgh of the Bishop, which exited to São João da Foz and Bouças, Braga, Guimarães and Penafiel. In the interwall roadway was the square of São Domingos, with the fundamental circulation in the panorama of internal urban links."
In the following centuries, there were many alterations. The majority of these changes affected the gates and lines of communication with the exterior. The construction of these walls were completed during the reign of King D. Fernando in 1376.

In 1409, the Postigo dos Carros gate was constructed, followed in 1521 by the construction of the Porta Nova dos Carros. This new gate eventually substituted the Postigo da Praia in 1522.

By 1529, it was necessary to urgently repair the line of walls between the Porta de Santo Elói and Porta do Olival; records from that time suggest that 360 "arms-lengths" were in a state of ruin.

In 1580, a small round fort was constructed on the angle alongside the Porta Nova or Porta Nobre.

By 1764, the first repurposing the walls began with the Postigo de Santo Elói transformed into a gate, followed in 1768, by the Postigo do Penedo and the Porta do Sol reused and reconstructed, with 45 "arms-lengths" of wall along the Monastery of Santa Clara. Various gates began to be demolished during this period; in 1774, the Porta da Ribeira was demolished; between 1789 and 1794, the Porta do Olival was destroyed; in 1792, the Porta de Nossa Senhora da Batalha was also taken down; and by 1821, the line of walls that closed the access to the Praça da Ribeira along the river.

In the first half of the 19th century, the walls parallel the river, in front of the urban area of Barredo, was transformed through the opening of a series of arcades separated by small oculi.

By 1827, the Porta dos Carros was also demolished, followed in subsequent years by the Postigo do Peixe (or Postigo da Alfândega Velha); the wall and west of the Gate of Olival, between 1853 and 1854; the Porta Nobre in 1872, in order to open the Rua Nova da Alfândega; and the demolition of the Porta do Sol in 1875. By 1888, there still remained corbels along the Porta dos Carros.

In the 20th century, the medieval walls were recuperated, during a revivalist campaign of restoration, that was characterized by the Estado Novo. This work occurred between 1959 and 1962, with priority along the cliff of Guindais. During this work, a Gothic house-tower was discovered along Rua de D. Pedro Pitões, alongside the Sé Cathedral. Restored by Rogério de Azevedo, it became the ex-libris of the medieval military structures of the city, initially sheltering the Gabinete de História da Cidade (city historical cabinet). More recently, a few archaeological interventions contributed decisively to a better understanding of the Portuense military evolution.

Architecture

Many of the structures, including walls and towers, are integrated into the buildings of the old town, with the main wall being the Guindais wall and tower, relatively isolated over the margin of the river.

The best remaining example of the Fernandino wall fortifications is preserved in the cliffs of Guindais, over the river, until the monastery of Santa Clara, following the Postigo do Carvalho, to the Postigo de Santo António do Penedo and later the gate of Porta do Sol. The lines continued through the local community to the Governo Civil and the Teatro de S. João, passing along the Rua de Cimo de Vila, where a gate with the same name existed. The fortifications then extended east to west at this point, crossed the Calçada de Sta. Teresa and the Viela da Madeira where some covered remains, until Postigo (later Porta) dos Carros. The walls continued to the extinct Convent of Lóios, today the actual building of the Cardosas, where the Porta de Santo Elói was located. From there the fortifications followed to the Calçada dos Clérigos and Rua da Assunção until the Cordoaria (in the Campo Mártires da Pátria), where the Porta do Olival, the principal entryway to Braga and Viana do Castelo was located. Of this last line and gate some of the remains are integrated into constructions. The walls then descended to the river, where some remains were conserved behind the homes that fronted the Rua das Taipas and Rua de Dr. Barbosa de Castro. Alongside the Largo das Virtudes existed a gate also, of the same name. It then continued in the direction of the river, behind the Palace of São João Novo, where the gate of Porta de Nossa Senhora da Esperança. Here also, there were preserved walls, like along the Escadas do Caminho Novo that terminated at the river. Before the walls inflected to parallel the river east to west, existed the Postigo da Praia, later transformed into the Porta da Praia, Porta Nova or Porta Nobre, and preserved into the Soares dos Reis Museum. On the lines paralleling the river, there were a number of towers: Postigo dos Banhos, Postigos do Pereira (or Lingueta), Postigo da Alfândega, Postigo do Carvão (the only one still preserved), the Postigo do Peixe, the Porta da Ribeira, and later four towers, the Postigo do Pelourinho, the Postigo da Forca, the Postigo da Madeira and the Postigo da Areia (alongside the escarpment of the Guindais) where it rose toward the north. The walls are considerably modified, through a number of passages cut or carved into the walls; many walls are conserved, especially along the river, being knowing as the Muro da Ribeira or Muro dos Bacalhoeiros.

Muralha Fernandina do Porto

The Stock Exchange Palace (Portuguese: Palácio da Bolsa) is a historical building in Porto, Portugal. The palace was built in the 19th century by the city's Commercial Association (Portuguese: Associação Comercial do Porto) in Neoclassical style. It is located in the Infante D. Henrique Square in the historical centre of Porto, designated World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
History
The Palácio da Bolsa is located beside the St Francis Church of Porto, which was once part of the St Francis Convent, founded in the 13th century. In 1832, during the Liberal Wars, a fire destroyed the cloisters of the convent, sparing the church. In 1841, Queen Mary II donated the convent ruins to the merchants of the city, who decided to use the spot to build the seat of the Commercial Association.
Building work began in 1842 following the plans of Porto architect Joaquim da Costa Lima Júnior, who designed a Neoclassical palace of Palladian influence, inspired by previous structures built in the city. Most of the palace was finished by 1850, but the decoration of the interior was only completed in 1910 and involved several different artists.
The Palácio da Bolsa has been classified as a National Monument since 1982.
Art and architecture
The first architect of the Palácio was Joaquim da Costa Lima Júnior, who was in charge of the project from 1840 until 1860. He was responsible for the general design of the building, inspired by the Neopalladian architecture that was in fashion in Porto since the late 18th century, expressed in buildings like the Hospital of St Anthony (by English architect John Carr), the English Factory (by another Englishman, John Whitehead) and several projects by Portuguese architect Carlos Amarante.
The general structure of the Palácio was completed by 1850, but several architectural details were later entrusted to architects Gustavo Adolfo Gonçalves e Sousa (author of the stairway and the Arab Room), Tomás Augusto Soler (metallic dome of the courtyard) and Joel da Silva Pereira (Tribunal Room), among others.
The interior of the Palace, only finished in 1910, was magnificently decorated by several artists. The central courtyard (Nations' Courtyard - Pátio das Nações) is covered by a large metallic, octagonal dome with glass panels, designed by Tomás Soler and built after 1880. The lower part of the dome is decorated with the painted coats-of-arms of Portugal and the countries with which Portugal had commercial relations in the 19th century. To the back of the courtyard, a sumptuous stairway, built in 1868 by Gonçalves e Sousa, leads to the upper storeys and is adorned with busts by celebrated sculptors António Soares dos Reis and António Teixeira Lopes. The ceiling frescoes were painted by António Ramalho.
Several rooms of the Palace - Tribunal Room, Assembly Room, Golden Room - display furniture by José Marques da Silva, allegoric paintings by José Maria Veloso Salgado and João Marques de Oliveira, sculptures by Teixeira Lopes and many other works of art. The highlight of the Palace is, however, the Arab Room, built between 1862 and 1880 by Gonçalves e Sousa. The room is decorated in the exotic Moorish Revival style, fashionable in the 19th century, and is used as reception hall for personalities and heads of state visiting Porto.

The Stock Exchange Palace

The Episcopal Palace (Portuguese: Paço Episcopal) is the former residence of the bishops of Porto, in Portugal. The palace is located on a high elevation, near Porto Cathedral, and dominates the skyline of the city. It is part of the historical centre of Porto, designated World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The palace is an important example of late Baroque and Rococo civil architecture in the city.
History
The original Episcopal Palace of Porto was built in the 12th or 13th century, as attested by some architectural vestiges like romanesque-style windows that exist inside the present building. In 1387, this mediaeval palace witnessed the marriage of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster.
During the 16th and 17th centuries the palace was greatly enlarged, and an old drawing shows it to be composed of a series of buildings with towers, as was typical for the architecture of Portuguese manor houses of the period. The present palace, however, is the result of a radical rebuilding campaign carried out in the 18th century, which turned it into a baroque work.
It is believed that the project for the Bishop's Palace was drawn in 1734 by the Italian Nicolau Nasoni, an architect with an extense work in Porto and surroundings. Building work started in 1737, under the direction of architect Miguel Francisco da Silva, and proceeded slowly. The bishopric of Porto was vacant from 1716 to 1741, as the Pope failed to confirm the nominee. Due to financial constraints, the original project could never be completed and had to be reduced in scale. The works were only finished in the last decades of the 18th century, under the rule of Bishop Rafael de Mendonça, whose coat-of-arms is located on the main portal and the inner monumental staircase of the palace.
The building was used as residence for the bishops of the city until the 19th century. During the Siege of Porto of 1832, the bishop fled the city and the palace was used by Peter IV's troops as stronghold in the battle against Miguel I. Much later, between 1916 and 1956, when the bishops no longer inhabited the palace, the palace served as seat of the Municipality of Porto.
Architecture
The Episcopal Palace is of rectangular shape with a courtyard in the middle. The main façade is painted white with three rows of windows and a central portal in dark granite. The frames of the higher row of windows come in different Rococo frames. The main portal has a balcony topped by the coat-of-arms of Bishop Rafael de Mendonça, who saw the completion of the building.
Upon entering the palace, the visitor goes through a long vestibule that leads to the stairway, which is the highlight of the interior. The monumental stairway, attributed to Nasoni, is composed of a first flight of steps followed by a U-shaped stair. The stairway leads to a baroque portal again with the coat-of-arms of Bishop Mendonça. The whole room is harmoniously decorated with wall paintings and stucco executed between the 18th and the 19th centuries in neoclassical style. In the same century a glass dome was added that provides abundant light to the interior. Other rooms of the palace have less artistic relevance.

Episcopal Palace

Muralha Primitiva, Cerca Velha ou Muralha Românica, são designações usadas para identificar uma antiga cintura de muralhas do Porto, em Portugal, da qual apenas subsistem um cubelo e um reduzido trecho, reconstruidos em meados do século XX.

Durante muito tempo conhecida por Muralha Sueva, está hoje identificada como obra de origem romana, do século III, reconstruida no século XII.

Esta cerca, com um perímetro aproximado de 750 metros e uma área que não atingia os 4 hectares, delimitava o morro da Pena Ventosa que tinha o seu centro nevrálgico na Sé do Porto.

Com o crescimento do burgo, no século XIV, houve necessidade de construir uma nova cintura de muralhas, vulgarmente conhecidas como Muralhas Fernandinas.

Muralha Primitiva

The Palace of Freixo (Portuguese: Palácio do Freixo) is a former-residence in the civil parish of Campanhã, in the northern Portuguese city of Porto.
History
The residence was order constructed in the middle of the 18th century, by Nicolau Nasoni, by orders of the Canon Jerónimo de Távora, a man of great wealth, from a noble family of Cernaches.
At the end of the 18th century, the Viscounts of Azurara purchased the residence, after its original sale to the merchant António Afonso, who had constructed alongside the building a soap factory.
In 1850, the palace and estate was sold to António Afonso Velado, who by 1866 had received the title of Baron of Freixo. By 1870, his success had put him in line for the title of Viscount of Freixo, resulting in his need to substitute the Tavira coat-of-arms on the old building and complete renovations. Part of the changes included large murals on mortar within the structure, and attributable to this period. The coat-of-arms of the Tavora decorated many parts of the building, but were later destroyed by the Marquis of Pombal, following the attempted Regicide of King D. Joseph. The gardens, a Nasonian inspiration, were divided by architectonic alleys of with balustrades and small villages of allegorical sculptures, while along the river there ran a balcony.
In the 20th century, an industrial purchased the building, installing in the gardens a milling factory, and later a 45 metres (148 ft) silo. Within the palace this entrepreneur established his administration in building. By 1870, tile and ceramics were installed in the building, ostensibly as a provisional solution to hide damage to the building.
Following a 1909 flood, the varanda was destroyed.
But, it was only in 1947 that recuperation of the building was undertaken, under the leadership of its occupant Companhia de Moagens Harmonia (Harmony Milling Company), of the União Fabril. A new silo was also constructed within the next few years to increase production at site.
In 1983, by decree (344-A/83), it was determined that the SEOP would begin the acquisition of the property: the process was completed on 30 November 1984, by the Ministério do Trabalho (Ministry of Work). A limited public tender was executed in 1985 to complete emergency repairs, but on 6 June 1985 there was a fire. As a consequence, the remain slate floors were removed from the site, and emergency public works were begun. Recuperation of the tile, facades and frameworks, cleaning of the gardens and enclosures.
The palace was recuperated under terms of project Metropólis, where the government contributed 10 million contos. The project, under the direction of architect Fernando Távora, was polemic, since it envisioned the transfer of the old installations of the Fábrica Harmonia below the palace, where they would be reconstructed. The project was denied by the local council in January 1998, when the architect was instructed to reformulate the plan. Other parts of the project, that included the creation of a small marina, the re-routing of a marginal roadway next to Freixo and the construction of a new building (to commemorate Vasco da Gama's trip to Brazil and provide a venue for the celebrations marking the Age of Discoveries), to shelter the Press Museum and other tenants, remained.In November 2005, approval was provided by the municipality to begin the installation of a hostel in the palace and milling buildings. This development fell under the operation of Grupo Pestana, under the concession of Pousadas de Portugal. The protocol between Pestana and the municipal council of Porto was signed in March 2006 to establish a Pousasda Histórica model, under the projection of David Sinclair, which included the connection of the palace to the historic milling factory. The resulting project transformed the palace spaces into common areas and the milling factory into bedrooms.
In December 2006, the IPPAR approved the conversion project of ENATUR, but only in October 2009, was an official inauguration held for the Freixo Palace Hotel, championed by architect David Sinclair and interior designer Jaime Morais.
Architecture
The palace and company factory are located in an isolate location along the riverway, built over an accentuated slope separated by gardens.
The rectangular palace includes towers subtly taller than the main building, and covered by pyramidal merlons and encircled by smaller pinnacles. Uniting the towers, with decorative flourishes, is a cornice.
Each facade of the palace have unique traits, constructed on three-floors. In the south, the building has two-and-a-half registers; the western facade has two floors; and the east appears to include three-stories. In the western facade is a chamfered niche, with windows above it, with the central surmounted by garlands and scrolls, similar to those over the palace portico. Along the southern facade, overlooking the river, is a state room consisting of three balconies with balustrades, recessed central window and projected staircase. The imponent eastern facade includes a grande staircase, but with recessed central zone girded by the towers, and decorated by balustrades and ornamented platforms (festooned by wrapped garlands and dolphins). The doors in the central corp are decorated with cornerstones that terminate in an interrupted frontispiece, surmounted by the coat-of-arms of the Baron of Freixo.
In the interior, as mural paintings in blues, browns, ochres, reds and rose, framed by rectangular moulding. Most of the interior has been changed and reformulated, and do not retain the original interior design of the period of construction.
In the western garden is a belvedere, typical of the Italianate gardens of the period, which is accessible from the eastern terrain. In the east is a hemicycle, flanked by two small pavilions and decorated with sculpted drums, helms, shields and flags, cannons and balls.

The Palace of Freixo

O Forte de Nossa Senhora da Assunção, também referido como Forte de São João Baptista, localiza-se na foz do rio Ave, na freguesia e concelho de Vila do Conde, no distrito do Porto, em Portugal.

Atualmente em bom estado de conservação, encontra-se aberto à visitação turística.

História

Quase votado ao abandono no século XX, foi requalificado de 1982 a 1998 como unidade hoteleira (com 8 quartos), com projeto dos arquitetos Paulo Lobo e Amadeo Mandolesi, e recursos do Fundo de Turismo e da autarquia.

Abriu portas como hotel de charme a 1 de julho em 2000, mas o objeto da concessão pouco durou. Poucos anos depois, transformou-se numa discoteca ao ar livre, a funcionar só no verão. A concessão, renovada até ao limite, terminou em maio de 2020.

Em fevereiro de 2020, a Câmara abriu novo concurso, que seria anulado, pois a proposta vencedora (grupo Eskada) pretendia continuar com a discoteca.

Em fevereiro de 2021, foi lançado um novo concurso. A ideia é que o Forte volte a ser uma unidade hoteleira, restaurante e estabelecimento de bebidas. O imóvel deve permitir visitas ao público, receber eventos que envolvam associações/instituições locais e funcionar o ano inteiro. O concurso público para a concessão do forte por um período de 15 anos tem um preço base de 2,04 milhões de euros.
