The Fort of Giribita, also referred to as the Fort of Our Lady of Porto Salvo and the Fort of Ponta do Guincho, is located on the right bank of the Tagus estuary, in the municipality of Oeiras, District of Lisbon, in Portugal. It was completed in 1649 during the Portuguese Restoration War (1640-1668), as part of the fortifications of Lisbon that stretched from Cabo da Roca on the Atlantic coast to Belém Tower close to Lisbon. It could exchange crossfire with the Fort of São Bruno to its east.

History

The fort, which is relatively small, was built on a rocky outcrop into the Tagus estuary in a Mannerist style. It has a pentagonal outline, with the roof covered by a terrace, with two circular bartizans. There are six gaps in the walls for gun emplacements. Using the site of an earlier artillery battery, the Fort of Giribita was rebuilt and enlarged as a result of a decision of the Council of War created by King John IV. Work was supervised by António Luís de Meneses, 1st Marquis of Marialva and was completed in 1649, according to the inscription on the entrance. By 1735 a report noted that the fort had just two pieces of artillery, with a further five not fit for service. In 1763 it was reportedly armed with 7 cannon but by 1824 the functioning artillery was again back to just two pieces. During the Portuguese Civil War (1828-1834) the Fort of Giribita was armed with 22 gunners and seven cannon.

In 1873 work began on restoration and in 1877 the fort was assigned to the Defence Commission of Lisbon, which used it as a deposit for torpedo material, a function which it still exercised in 1911, the first year of the First Portuguese Republic after the 5 October 1910 revolution. Some repairs were carried out in 1911. In 1942 it was handed over to the Ministry of Finance. Prior to that, its surrounding environment had been completely changed by construction of the EN6 highway, known as the Marginal, connecting Lisbon with Cascais along the river and coastline, which passes within a few metres of the fort. After the Carnation Revolution in 1974, it was handed over to the Directorate of Naval Infrastructure in 1975.



Fort of Giribita

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O Palácio Flor da Murta remonta a 1549 e era parte de um vasto domínio senhorial designado por “Quinta da Terrugem”, pertencente, à família Correia Barém. No século XVIII, a quinta estava na pose da família Meneses período este que ficou ligado a História de Portugal, pois a sua proprietária, D. Luísa Clara de Portugal, “Flor da Murta”, foi favorita do rei D. João V.
Da antiga propriedade, resta uma adega, o palácio com dois pisos (remodelado no século XVIII), com o seu ex-libris, a varanda de arcarias de volta inteira é precisamente aqui que mora o silhar de azulejos, mais antigos do concelho, com motivos do século XVI.
Na quinta existe capela pequena que na sua entrada tem o brasão, datado de 1549, concedido a Damião Dias da Ribeira, e onde, segundo consta o famoso Frei Bartolomeu dos Mártires terá rezado missa.
Na quinta vemos um espectacular relógio de sol um pequeno lago com repuxo na entrada e um grande lago lateral que dá corpo e graça aos verdejantes jardins do palácio todo este sistema ainda hoje é a sustentavelmente abastecido pela estrutura hidráulica criada no século XVIII, a partir de condutas enterradas (das quais ainda se vislumbram na paisagem os respiradouros), parte de um sistema regional de abastecimento de água, contemporâneo do Aqueduto das Águas Livres.
https://oeirasviva.pt/

Flor da Murta Palace

The Fort of São Bruno is situated on the estuary of the River Tagus in Caxias, Oeiras municipality, near Lisbon in Portugal. It was built in 1647 and became operational in 1649 as part of the construction of a line of forts to control access to Lisbon, which stretched from Cabo da Roca on the Atlantic coast to the Belém Tower near Lisbon. The fort is well preserved, following its original design, and is considered one of the most attractive examples of maritime military architecture on the Portuguse coast. It presently serves as the headquarters of the Associação Portuguesa dos Amigos dos Castelos (Portuguese association of friends of castles).

History

During the Portuguese Restoration War, King John IV of Portugal identified the need to strengthen Lisbon's defences in the face of attacks by the Spanish navy. In 1647 he ordered construction of a fort at Caxias to improve the defence of the right bank of the Tagus by making possible crossfire with the Fort of Nossa Senhora do Vale (Our Lady of the Valley) to the east, now demolished, and the Fort of Giribita to the west, thus reinforcing the major Fort of São Julião da Barra to the west. António Luís de Meneses, 1st Marquis of Marialva, was given responsibility for the work.

Built on a rocky outcrop into the river estuary, the Fort of São Bruno (taking its name from a nearby convent) is in the shape of a star around a raised central square. Following a Mannerist style, it was built with batteries targeted at both the estuary and towards the land, together with rectangular bartizans on the front corners. The entrance to the interior is through a large arched gate, on which was placed the shield of Portugal, with the date 1647. It was equipped with cannon in 1649. A military inspection carried out in 1735 reported that the fort was deactivated and all its artillery had been destroyed. It also stated that at least one of the lower batteries had been invaded by sand. Some repairs took place in 1751 and the fort seems to have emerged relatively unscathed from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Throughout the 18th century the fort was deactivated on several occasions and was reported on one occasion to be occupied by farmers. However, it was again in operation during the Spanish-Portuguese War of 1762–1763, being armed with 16 cannon.

View of the fort from the east

King Miguel I used the fort in 1831 for target practice, using its artillery to aim at barges moored in the middle of the Tagus for that purpose. These were the only occasions on which artillery has been fired from the fort. With the end of the Portuguese Civil War the fort was once again deactivated. After that it ceased to be used for military purposes and in 1888 was leased to a private individual for nine years. In 1902 it was handed back to the Government and in 1903 occupied by the Guarda Fiscal, the Portuguese Customs and Excise department, to guard against smuggling. The Guarda Fiscal was responsible for it until 1946, although in 1941 it was used as a sailing centre by the Mocidade Portuguesa, a youth organization of the right-wing Estado Novo Government. A well-supported campaign in 1999-2000 for the restoration of the fort and improvements to the surrounding area led to significant work being carried out by the Oeiras municipality.

Fort of São Bruno

When you hear Marquês de Pombal, you probably think of the statue at the center of Lisbon’s malfunction-junction circular in front of Parque Eduardo VII. And you’d be right, more or less— the dude atop that pillar, standing proudly next to a lion, is Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, who was once the Secretary of the State of Internal Affairs of the Kingdom and the first (of nine) Marquês de Pombal — more often than not, these two titles were held simultaneously. He’s best known for his work to lessen the influence of the Portuguese Inquisition and, of course, for the anti-seismic architectural style adopted in Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake, known as pombalino.
Today, he would be considered more or less the same as Prime Minister, so it’s no wonder this guy needed a snazzy palace to call his own whilst in office.
Inspired by Versailles, Palácio do Marquês de Pombal in Oeiras is an 18th-century Baroque palace and gardens designed and built by Carlos Mardel, a renowned Hungarian architect who had a lot to do with the development of the Pombaline technique. The house is located in Oeiras and is comprised of an elaborate chapel, large stone staircases, impressively painted ceilings in most of the rooms, and meticulously painted tiles throughout the property. The most inspiring part of the estate, however, is the surrounding gardens and the surprises that lie in wait around every turn.
There’s a poet’s waterfall, mosaics made from broken dishes, bust-topped columns, mazes of hedges, a wide range of flowers, Roman-inspired pools, a delicate bridge, and perfectly maintained lawns. The list goes on and on, so perhaps its best to see it for yourself.
But don’t go expecting to meet the heirs of the last Marquês, powdered wigs and all — the palace now belongs the Oeiras City Hall.
https://www.atlaslisboa.com/

Marquês de Pombal Palace

The Fort of Santo Amaro do Areeiro, also known as the Forte Velho (Old fort) or Fort of Areeiro, is located on the right bank of the River Tagus in the municipality of Oeiras in the Lisbon District of Portugal. Construction began in 1647 under the direction of António Luís de Meneses and was completed in 1659.

History

The fort was designed in a polygonal, Mannerist style. It was built during the Portuguese Restoration War (1640-68) on the instructions of King D. João IV, with the purpose of reinforcing the defence of the Tagus estuary already being provided by the nearby Fort of São Julião da Barra and the Fort of São Lourenço do Bugio, situated in the estuary, and thereby controlling access to the capital Lisbon. By 1735 it was reportedly in a bad condition, with the main door needing to be replaced. Further work was deemed urgently required in 1751. It was garrisoned during the Spanish–Portuguese War (1762-63), being armed with seven working cannon.

The Fort of Santo Amaro was decommissioned in 1768 but by the end of the 18th century it again had a garrison, of six gunners with six cannon. Early in the 19th century it was manned by 20 soldiers who were military invalids. The fort was abandoned in 1833 during the Portuguese Civil War (1828-1834). By 1896 it was occupied only by a soldier with his family. During World War II, five families were living in the fort in 1945. Twenty-seven adults and several children were found to be there in 1947. This number amounted to about fifty individuals in 1950, when eviction proceedings were begun. In the late 1950s considerable conservation and improvement work was undertaken and in 1961 and 1962 the fort was used as summer residence of the Minister of the Army. After the Carnation Revolution (1974), which saw the overthrow of the Estado Novo dictatorship, Santo Amaro was used as a place for political meetings. For security reasons an external wall was built, giving a misleading idea of its design from outside. In the 1980s it was used as holiday colony for children of public servants. In December 2010 the government authorized the fort’s sale.

Fort of Santo Amaro do Areeiro

The Fort of São Lourenço do Bugio, also known as the fort of São Lourenço da Cabeça Seca (Saint Lawrence of the dry head) or simply Torre do Bugio (Bugio Tower), is located in the middle of the estuary of the river Tagus, near Lisbon in Portugal. With no further need for its military functions, it is presently a lighthouse. The fort’s location is on a sandbank formed by the silting of the river mouth, the result of the meeting of the river’s waters with those of the Atlantic Ocean. Being the only sandbar in the Tagus with its surface above the tide throughout the year, it was given the name “dry head”. The derivation of the name “Bugio” (monkey) is uncertain but may be related to the French word for candle, “bougie”, due to the similarity of the fort’s structure with a candle on a candlestick. 

Origins

The idea of a fortification in the river Tagus to protect the maritime access to Lisbon was first suggested by the architect Francisco de Holanda in the reign of King Sebastian I. The king entrusted Manuel de Almada to erect the structure, with the idea that crossfire would be possible with the then primitive Fort of São Julião da Barra on the north bank of the river, thus protecting the access channels to Lisbon. The initial structure, which was built in 1570, was constructed of wood but due to the shifting sands was not practical. But Lisbon was under a constant threat from pirates and a more substantial stone structure was required.

Construction

During the reign of King Philip I two different design proposals were made by the Italian architect Giovanni Vicenzo Casale; one for a star shape and the other for a circular fort. The latter was considered best able to resist the waves in the estuary and to offer greater ease of mobilization of the artillery. A large number of barges were constructed in order to move blocks of stone from the area near the Fort of São Julião da Barra out to the sandbank. Work began in 1590 but progress was slow and the foundations were not finished until 1601. The fort was only finally completed during the reign of King John IV. He appointed a Portuguese engineer to complete the work in 1643 but it was not finally finished until 1657. 

Battles

The fort was significantly damaged by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. During the Peninsular War, the fort was occupied by Napoleonic troops in 1807 and during the Liberal Wars it was the target of artillery fire from the French fleet under the command of Admiral Albin Roussin. The fort was garrisoned until at least 1911. In the 1930s and 1940s dredging work was carried out in its surroundings. At the end of World War II, it was transferred to the Directorate of Lighthouse Services. Severely damaged by weather and water erosion, it has undergone various repairs since the 1950s but damage remains visible.

Structure

The structure, considered a model of Renaissance fortification, and believed to have been modelled by the architect on Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome,  is perfectly circular, in stone masonry. It consists of an external sloping wall 62 meters in diameter and 6 meters high; an internal wall 33 meters in diameter by 7 meters in height, and a central tower, 3 meters in diameter and 16 meters high, at the top of which is the modern lighthouse. Inside the internal wall are a command post, barracks, storage, a cistern and a chapel. 

Fort of São Lourenço do Bugio

The São Julião da Barra Fort is the largest and most complete military defense complex in the Vauban style remaining in Portugal. It is located in São Julião da Barra, on the point of São Gião, in the parish of Oeiras e São Julião da Barra, Paço de Arcos e Caxias, Lisbon District. Considered in the past as the most important maritime fortification in the country, it had originally, together with the Fort of São Lourenço do Bugio, the role of controlling access to the port of Lisbon. It is currently the official residence of the Portuguese Minister of National Defence.

History

Starting from small beginnings, São Julião has been modified, expanded and adapted over several centuries. The construction of a fort on the right bank of the Tagus River was recommended by the King of Portugal, Manuel I, to his son and successor, John III. In 1549 John III created the position of Master of the Works of Fortification of the Kingdom, and initially entrusted the architect, Miguel de Arruda, with construction of several fortified complexes in overseas Portuguese territories. Following a decision that the defence of Lisbon would be best served by a defensive arrangement incorporating several forts, work on the Fort of São Julião da Barra, under the supervision of Arruda, began in 1553 and had been completed by 1568.

The defensive arrangements also incorporated the Tower, later Fort of São Lourenço do Bugio, situated on a sandbank in the middle of the Tagus estuary, and the role of these two forts to protect the entrance to the Lisbon bar were complemented by the Citadel of Cascais, as a first defence at the mouth of the river, and by the Tower of Belém close to Lisbon and the Fort of São Sebastião de Caparica on the left bank, which were seen as a last line of defence. Additional work continued in 1573, when those awaiting deportation and held in the fort’s dungeons were used for forced labour. In 1579 a Spanish spy in the service of Philip II of Spain produced a drawing of the fort, which was subsequently attacked from the land by Spanish troops under the command of the Duke of Alba. The garrison surrendered on August 13, 1580.

During the Spanish occupation the Duke of Alba planned the reinforcement of the fort, raising new batteries and extending the defenses of the western flank. In 1582 bastions were added to the eastern side. Further enlargement and reinforcement was carried out from 1597. Together, these works transformed São Julião da Barra into the largest and most powerful fort in Portugal. In the same period, the fort began to be used as a political prison, a function that was maintained in the following centuries until the First Portuguese Republic.

At the beginning of the Portuguese Restoration War (1640-1668), the fort suffered its second siege, by troops loyal to the Duke of Braganza, who became King John IV of Portugal in 1640. Under his reign further repair works were carried out to the fort including construction of barracks and lodgings for the garrison and further defences against attack from the land. Further improvements were implemented in 1751 but in 1755 the fort suffered damage as a result of the Lisbon Earthquake, the most serious being the collapse of the lighthouse tower in the centre of the square. The lighthouse resumed operation in 1761.

At the beginning of the Peninsular War French Napoleonic troops under the command of General Jean-Andoche Junot reached the limits of Lisbon on November 30, 1807. The fort was transformed into barracks for the French occupation troops under the command of General Jean-Pierre Travot, while the bar of the Tagus River was blocked by the British navy in support of the Portuguese. The fort passed into British hands following the Sintra Convention, on 2 September 1808. In 1809 it was earmarked as the evacuation point for British troops under the command of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington in the event that British and Portuguese troops were unable to repel a further French invasion. The fort was protected by a series of military works constructed under Wellington's orders and collectively known as the third line of the Lines of Torres Vedras. In 1831, during the Portuguese Civil War (1828-1834), it was the target of artillery fire from the French fleet under the command of Admiral Albin Roussin.

On 22 August 1951, São Julião ceased to be a military fortification and was adapted for the reception of members of the government and accommodation for illustrious visitors. It was used for the reception of General Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1951 and Field Marshal Montgomery in 1952. The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was hosted at the fort in November, 2012.


Forte de São Julião da Barra

The Fort of Bom Sucesso (Portuguese: Forte do Bom Sucesso) is located slightly to the west of the Belém Tower in Belém in the municipality of Lisbon, in Portugal. It now houses the Museu do Combatente (Combatant’s museum) and the Monument to Overseas Combatants.

History

Construction of the fort, which follows a polygonal outline on the right bank of the River Tagus, was started in 1780 under the direction of General Guilherme de Vallerée. A residence for the governor of the fort was added soon after, within the perimeter. On the basis of an inscription over the main entrance, it appears that the fort was completed in 1802.

In 1808, during the occupation of Lisbon by French forces commanded by Marshal Junot, the fort was connected to the Belém Tower by an artillery battery, known as the left flank battery. In 1815, after the French had been defeated, a right flank was added.

By 1836 the fort was in ruins and it was effectively abandoned until 1870. It underwent extensive modernization between 1870 and 1874, after which it received two Krupp 28 cm Haubitze L/12 howitzers, and became one of a number of forts, known as the Campo Entrincheirado (Entrenched Field) of Lisbon, that formed a defensive perimeter that followed the boundaries of Lisbon at the time. Later, its defence consisted of five 120mm Schneider pieces. During the failed coup attempt of 18 May, 1925, an attempt was made to attack the fort.

During the Portuguese Colonial War (1961 – 1975) the Fort of Bom Sucesso served as the headquarters of the Military Postal Service. After the Carnation Revolution on 25 April 1974, which overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime, it hosted the Command of the Military Intervention Group, a body set up by the Revolutionary Council to maintain law and order. Later it was the headquarters of the Association of 25th of April, an organization that brought together the members of the military who initiated the Carnation Revolution.

The Combatant’s Museum

On January 13, 1999, the fort was officially handed over to the Portuguese League of Combatants, which manages the museum. It offers a permanent exhibition indoors, as well as three external areas with equipment related to the various branches of the Armed Forces. The permanent exhibition covers World War I, the colonial campaigns (known in Portugal as the overseas campaigns), and peace missions. The museum also has social areas, conference and projection rooms, and a bar.

Forte do Bom Sucesso

Belém Tower (Portuguese: Torre de Belém, pronounced [ˈtoʁ(ɨ) dɨ bɨˈlɐ̃ȷ̃]), officially the Tower of Saint Vincent (Portuguese: Torre de São Vicente) is a 16th-century fortification located in Lisbon that served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. It was built during the height of the Portuguese Renaissance, and is a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style, but it also incorporates hints of other architectural styles. The structure was built from lioz limestone and is composed of a bastion and a 30-metre (98.4 ft), four-storey tower.

Since 1983, the tower has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Jerónimos Monastery. It is often portrayed as a symbol of Europe's Age of Discoveries and as a metonym for Portugal or Lisbon, given its landmark status. It has incorrectly been stated that the tower was built in the middle of the Tagus and now sits near the shore because the river was redirected after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In fact, the tower was built on a small island in the Tagus river near the Lisbon shore.

History

In the late 15th century, King John II had designed a defence system for the mouth of the Tagus that depended on the fortresses of Cascais and São Sebastião (or Torre Velha) in Caparica on the south side of the river. These fortresses did not completely protect the river's mouth, and further protection was required. In his "Chronicle of John II" (Chronica de D. Joao II), which appeared in 1545, the author Garcia de Resende affirmed the king's opinion that the defences of Lisbon were inadequate, and that he had insisted on building fortifications along the entrance to the River Tagus to supplement the existing defences. To this end, he ordered the "making of a strong fort", but died before any plans were drawn. King Manuel I of Portugal revisited the proposal twenty years later and ordered the construction of a military fortification on the northern margin of the Tagus at Belém. In 1513, Lourenço Fernandes wrote a letter to his friends referring to the king's intention of constructing a tower near Restelo Velho, having determined it to be essential.

The project was started on a basaltic rock outcrop a short distance from the riverbank, using some of the stone being collected to build the Monastery of Santa Maria de Belém. The tower was designed by military architect Francisco de Arruda, named "Master of the works of the Belém stronghold" by King Manuel, and in 1516 he began receiving 763 blocks and 504 stones for its construction, delivered by Diogo Rodrigues, treasurer for the project. As construction progressed, a man-of-war called the Grande Nau (Great Ship), a heavily armed, 1000–ton ship continued to guard the estuary at the mouth of the Tagus until the fort's completion.

The building was finished in 1519, just two years before Manuel's death, and Gaspar de Paiva was temporarily stationed to command the fortress; his commission was made permanent on 15 September 1521, when he was appointed the first Captain-General, or alcalde, and the fortress was named the Castle of St Vincent (Castelo de São Vicente de Belém), in honour of the patron saint of Lisbon.

In 1571, Francisco de Holanda advised the monarch that it was necessary to improve the coastal defences in order to protect the kingdom's capital. He suggested the construction of a "strong and impregnable" fort that could easily defend Lisbon and that the Belém Tower "should be strengthened, repaired and completed...that it has cost so much without being completed". D'Holanda designed an improved rectangular bastion with several turrets. In 1580, after a few hours of battle, the garrison stationed in the tower surrendered to Spanish forces under the command of the Duke of Alba. After this defeat, the dungeons of the tower served as a prison until 1830. It was also during the last quarter of the 16th century that the construction of the Philippine Barracks began. A rectangular two-storey space was constructed over the bastion, giving the tower the visual profile that it has retained to the present, with sculpted crosses of the Order of Christ and domed turrets.

In 1589, Philip I of Portugal ordered Italian engineer Friar João Vicenzio Casale to build a well-defended fort to be constructed in place of the "useless castle of São Vicente".[9] The engineer submitted three designs, proposing that the bastion would be surrounded by another bastion of greater dimensions, but the project never materialized.

A 1633 codex for the House of Cadaval was inserted into one of the floors, in one of the arches of the barracks, and in the four largest arches at the top of the southern façade. Similarly, a reference to the year 1655 was inscribed on a plaque placed on the northern wall of the cloister, which certified the tower's function as a customs control point and for navigation along the Tagus; vessels were obliged to pay a tax as they entered the harbour, which was imposed incrementally.

Between 1780 and 1782, under the reign of Maria I of Portugal, General Guilherme de Valleré constructed the Fort of Bom Sucesso, whose battery was connected by a western corridor wall to the tower. When French forces invaded Lisbon during the Peninsular War, detachments of their troops were quartered in the tower from 1808 to 1814. After the French retreated, Lord Beresford advised that coastal artillery batteries should be reinforced along the Tagus, and specifically noted that stronger batteries should be placed on the sides of the tower's bastion, with carts placed to better protect the soldiers, since the walls were very low.

King Miguel I (1828–1834) used the dungeons to imprison his liberal opponents, while another level was used as a custom house for ships until the duty on foreign ships was abolished in 1833. The tower received military upgrades in 1589 and 1809–1814.

During the reign of Maria II, Almeida Garrett protested the site's degradation and under the persuasion of the Duke of Terceira, renovations were begun by military engineer António de Azevedo e Cunha. He demolished the Philippine barracks and extended revivalist elements in 1845–46 (such as the armoured merlons, the balustrade of the veranda along the southern façade, the laced fascia in the cloister and the niche with an image of the Virgin and Child).

In 1865–67 a beacon was installed on the southeast terrace of the building and a telegraph service was started, while nearby a gas factory was built, producing smoke that prompted many protests. The first moves to preserve and rehabilitate the tower began in the latter part of the 20th century. First, the tower was transferred to the Ministry of Finance in 1940, which undertook small conservation works. Then the military quarters on the battlements were removed and the inner cloister was built. The architectural landscape designer António Viana Barreto began a three-year project in 1953 to integrate the tower with the local shoreline. In 1983 the site hosted the 17th European Exhibition on Art, Science and Culture, and various projects involving the building were undertaken, among them covering the cloister with a transparent plastic cupola. In the same year the Belém Tower was classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

In the 1990s, the property was transferred to the Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico (forerunner of IGESPAR), which began a full restoration of the building that lasted from February 1997 to January 1998; this included reinforcing the tower and bastion, reinforcing the south balcony supports with stainless steel rods and epoxy resin, treating the mortar joints, and general structural cleaning. The statues of Saint Vincent of Saragossa and the Archangel Michael received the same treatment. In 1999 the project received the Europa Nostra award for its restoration of the exterior. The Belém Tower was added on 7 July 2007 to the registry of the Seven Wonders of Portugal.

Architecture

The Belém Tower is situated on the northern bank of the Tagus River in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém, municipality of Lisbon, accessible at the western end of the Avenida de Brasília by a small bridge. Nearby are the Jeronimos Monastery to the east and the Forte do Bom Sucesso to the west, while to the north are the tower Governor's residence, the old Governor's residence for the Bom Successo fort, and the Chapel of São Jerónimo.

The tower is isolated along the riverbank, between the dock of Bom Sucesso and Pedrouços, on a basaltic outcropping of rocks belonging to the geomorphological volcanic complex of Lisboa-Mafra. Although various guides have claimed that the tower was built in the middle of the Tagus, and now sits near the shore after the 1755 earthquake redirected the river, they are incorrect. The Portuguese Ministry of Culture and the Institute of Architectural Heritage indicate that the tower was constructed on a small island near the bank of the Tagus, opposite the shore of Restelo. As development extended the shoreline progressively, more and more of the northern bank crept southwards into the Tagus, the tower becoming integrated into the riverbank over time.

The Belém Tower was built from a beige-white limestone local to the Lisbon area and thereabouts called Lioz. The building is divided into two parts: the bastion and the four-story tower located on the north side of the bastion.

The 16th-century tower is considered one of the principal works of the Portuguese Late Gothic Manueline style. This is especially apparent in its elaborate rib vaulting, crosses of the Order of Christ, armillary spheres and twisted rope, common to the nautically inspired organic Manueline style.

Exterior

The building's plan consists of a rectangular tower and an irregular, hexagonal bastion, with elongated flanks, that projects south into the river. It is basically a large articulated vertical space resting on a horizontal stone slab, covered by masonry enclosures. On the northeast angle of the structure, protected by a defensive wall with bartizans, is a drawbridge to access the bulwark, decorated in plant motifs, surmounted by the royal coat of arms and flanked by small columns, complemented with armillary spheres. The Manueline armillary spheres appear at the tower's entrance, symbolizing Portugal's nautical explorations, and were used on King Manuel I's personal banner to represent Portuguese discoveries during his rule. The decorative carved, twisted rope and elegant knots also point to Portugal's nautical history and are common elements of the Manueline style.

On the outside of the lower bastion, the walls have spaces for 17 cannons with embrasures affording a view of the river. The upper tier of the bastion is crowned by a small wall with bartizans in strategic places, decorated by rounded shields with the cross of the Order of Christ encircling the platform. King Manuel I was a member of the Order of Christ, thus the cross of the Order of Christ is used numerous times on the parapets. These were a symbol of Manuel's military power, as the knights of the Order of Christ participated in several military conquests in that era. The bartizans, cylindrical turrets (guerites) in the corners that served as watchtowers, have corbels with zoomorphic ornaments and domes covered with ridges unusual in European architecture, topped with ornate finials. The bases of the turrets have images of beasts, including a rhinoceros. This rhinoceros is considered to be the first sculpture of such an animal in Western European art and probably depicts the rhinoceros that Manuel I sent to Pope Leo X in 1515.

While the tower is predominantly Manueline in style, it also incorporates features of other architectural styles. It was built by the military architect Francisco de Arruda, who had already supervised the construction of several fortresses in Portuguese territories in Morocco. The influence of Moorish architecture is manifested in the delicate decorations, the arched windows, the balconies, and the ribbed cupolas of the watchtowers.

The tower has four storeys, with fenestrations and battlements, the ground floor being occupied by a vaulted cistern. On the first floor, there is a south-facing rectangular door with arched windows on the east and north, and bartizans in the northeast and northwest corners. The southern part of the second floor is dominated by a covered veranda with a loggia (matacães), consisting of an arcade of seven arches, resting on large corbels with balusters. It is covered by laced stonework to form a porch, and its sloped roof ends in a sculpted twisted rope. The eastern, northern and western walls are occupied by double-arched enclosures, with the northeast and northwest corners occupied by statues of Saint Vincent of Saragossa and the archangel Michael in niches. The third floor has twin windows in the northern, eastern and western façades, with balusters, interspersed by two armillary spheres and large relief with the Royal coat of arms. The final floor is encircled by a terrace with shields of the Order of Christ, and a northern arched door and eastern arched window. The terrace is enclosed by a low wall with colonnaded pyramidal merlons with bartizans in the four corners. A similar terrace above this floor offers a view of the surrounding landscape.

Interior

The interior of the bastion, with a circular staircase at the north end, has two contiguous halls with vaulted ceilings supported by masonry arches, as well as four storage lockers and sanitary facilities. On the ground floor bunker, the floor is inclined towards the outside, while the ceilings are supported by masonry pilasters and vaulted spines. Gothic rib vaulting is evident in this casemate, the rooms of the tower and the cupolas of the watchtowers on the bastion terrace. Peripheral compartments on the edges of the bunker allow the individual cannons to occupy their own space, with the ceiling designed with several asymmetrical domes of various heights. The ancillary storerooms were later used as prison cells.

Two archways open to the main cloister in the north and south, while six broken arches stretch along the eastern and western parts of the cloister, interspersed with square pillars in the bastion interior, with gargoyle facets. The open cloister above the casemate, although decorative, was designed to dispel cannon smoke. The upper level is connected by a railing decorated with crosses of the Order of Christ, while at the terrace the space has rising columns topped with armillary spheres. This space could also be used for light calibre infantry. This was the first Portuguese fortification with a two-level gun emplacement and marks a new development in military architecture. Some of the decoration dates from the renovation of the 1840s and is Neo-Manueline in style, like the decoration of the small cloister on the bastion.

On the southern portion of the cloister terrace is an image of the Virgin and Child. The statue of the Virgin of Belém, also referred to as Nossa Senhora de Bom Successo (Our Lady of Good Success), Nossa Senhora das Uvas (Our Lady of the Grapes) or the Virgem da Boa Viagem (Virgin of Safe Homecoming) is depicted holding a child in her right hand and a bunch of grapes in her left.

The tower is about 12 metres (39 ft) wide and 30 metres (98 ft) tall. The first-floor interior contains the Sala do Governador (Governor's Hall), an octagonal space that opens into the cistern, while in the northeast and northwest corners are corridors that link to the bartizans. A small door provides access via a spiral staircase to the subsequent floors. On the second floor, the Sala dos Reis (King's Hall) opens to the loggia overlooking the river, while a small corner fireplace extends from this floor to the third floor fireplace in the Sala das Audiências (Audience Hall). The ceilings of all three floors are covered in hollow concrete slabs. The fourth floor chapel has a vaulted rib ceiling with niches emblematic of the Manueline style, supported by carved corbels.

Belém Tower

The Palace of Queluz (Portuguese: Palácio de Queluz, Portuguese pronunciation: [kɛˈɫuʃ]) is an 18th-century palace located at Queluz, a city of the Sintra Municipality, in the Lisbon District, on the Portuguese Riviera. One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europe, the palace was conceived as a summer retreat for Dom Pedro of Braganza, later to become husband and then king consort to his own niece, Queen Maria I. It served as a discreet place of incarceration for Queen Maria as her descent into madness continued in the years following Dom Pedro's death in 1786. Following the destruction by fire of the Ajuda Palace in 1794, Queluz Palace became the official residence of the Portuguese prince regent John VI, and his family and remained so until the royal family fled to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in 1807 following the French invasion of Portugal.
Work on the palace began in 1747 under Portuguese architect Mateus Vicente de Oliveira. Despite being far smaller, the palace is often referred to as the Portuguese Versailles. From 1826, the palace slowly fell from favour with the Portuguese sovereigns. In 1908, it became the property of the state. Following a serious fire in 1934, which gutted one-third of the interior, the palace was extensively restored, and today is open to the public as a major tourist attraction.
One wing of the palace, the Queen Maria I Pavilion, built by Manuel Caetano de Sousa, is currently used as Portugal's official state guest house, allocated to foreign heads of state.
Architecture and history
Queluz's architecture is representative of the final extravagant period of Portuguese culture that followed the discovery of Brazilian gold in 1690. From the beginning of the 18th century many foreign artists and architects were employed in Portugal to satisfy the needs of the newly enriched aristocracy; they brought with them classical ideas of architecture which derived from the Renaissance. In its design, Queluz is a revolt against the earlier, heavier, Italian-influenced Baroque which preceded the Rococo style throughout Europe.
Comparisons with the far larger and more Baroque Versailles are unwarranted: Versailles is referred to as having "an aura of majesty" and it was built and dedicated to exhibit in stone "all the glories of France," whereas the far smaller palace at Queluz has been described as "exquisite rather than magnificent" and looking like "a very expensive birthday cake". In its frivolity, the architecture of Queluz reflects the lifestyle led by the Portuguese royal family at the time of building: during the reign of Dom Pedro's brother, Joseph I, when Portugal was in practice governed by a valido or favourite, the Marquis of Pombal. Pombal encouraged the royal family to while away their days in the country and leave affairs of state to him. Thus the extravagant, almost whimsical architecture of Queluz, set apart from the capital city, exactly represents the politics and social events of Portugal during this era, and the carefree and flamboyant lives led by its occupants. Queluz's role as a haven for those without responsibility was, however, to be short-lived.
On the accession to the throne of Dom Pedro's wife Maria in 1777, Pombal was dismissed, and Dom Pedro and Maria ruled jointly in his place, using the partially completed Rococo palace at Queluz as a retreat from affairs of state in much the same way as Frederick the Great used Europe's other famed Rococo palace, Sanssouci.
The site chosen for this summer retreat was in a secluded hollow. It had originally been owned by the Marquis of Castelo Rodrigo. When the ruling Spanish were driven from Portugal in 1640, the Marquis was accused of having collaborated with the Spanish and the property was seized by the Portuguese Crown. The estate and its hunting lodge then became one of the many properties of the Portuguese king, João IV. He set it aside as one of the properties reserved for the second son of the reigning monarch. Thus it came into the hands of Dom Pedro, the second son of João V.
The architect, Mateus Vicente de Oliveira, had trained under Ludovice of Ratisbon and Jean-Baptiste Robillon [fr] during the construction of the royal palace and convent of Mafra. The more sombre and massive classical palace at Mafra does not appear to have influenced the design for Queluz, which is in a lighter, more airy style. Work began in 1747 and continued rapidly until 1755, when it was interrupted by the Great earthquake of 1755, after which the labourers were more urgently required for the reconstruction of the city. The earthquake proved to be a catalyst, because the urban rebuilding process stimulated the development of the arts in Portugal. The subsequent architecture of Queluz was influenced by new ideas and concepts. When work recommenced in 1758, the design was adapted for fear of another earthquake. Thus the later works take the form of low, long buildings, more structurally stable than a single high block: as a result, viewed from a distance the palace resembles long enfilades linked by higher pavilions rather than one single construction.
Exterior
The public façade of the palace faces directly onto a town square and takes the form of two low, symmetrical, quadrant wings which flank the forward-reaching wings of a small central corps de logis, thus forming a semi-circular cour d'honneur. The southern of the two quadrant wings is terminated by the onion-domed chapel, while the northern wing contained the kitchens and servants' quarters. The only decoration comes from the simple classical pediments above the windows. This façade, that most readily seen from the town, presents a decorous and impassive public face with one of the most architecturally severe elevations of the palace.
Oliveira was directly responsible for the "Ceremonial Façade" of the "corps de logis", the rectangular block which forms the nucleus of the palace, and some of the interior courtyards. His former tutor, the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Robillon, was in charge of the gardens, many buildings, and the Rococo interiors. He in turn was assisted by Jean-Baptiste Pillement and other French and Portuguese artists. The "Ceremonial Façade" is the best-known view of the palace. With classical proportions, it is externally decorated by travertine rendering and delicately carved cartouches over the windows. It has been described as a "harmonious example of Portuguese Baroque". This façade with its single-storey flanking wings forms a three-sided courtyard containing the "Hanging Garden"—so called because like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon it is on a raised terrace.
The second major part of the palace is the great western wing, known as the Robillon wing or Robillon Pavilion, which illustrates better than any other the excesses of Baroque and Rococo architecture. Completed in 1779, it has a doric colonnade which runs the entire length of its western and southern façades, the roof of which provides a balustraded balcony accessible from the floor above. Owing to the topography of the site, the eastern side appears as a single-storey building, with only the upper floor visible above the ground in the "Hanging Garden". The balustrade on the roof of the Robillon wing is broken by heavy segmental pediments adorned with reclining statuary figures; the balustrade itself is also adorned with flambeaux, statuary and heavy armorial trophies.
The Robillon wing contains an entrance to the palace reached by flights of ingeniously designed graduated steps. Their design creates an illusion of a longer and higher perspective, centred on a corner of a terrace because of exigencies of the site, and divided mid-flight so as not to lead the eye and footstep towards an angle of the colonnade beyond. The steps are adorned with elaborate statuary. The bays of the façade are stuccoed rose-pink, contrasting with the motifs and pilasters in natural stone.
In 1760, Pombal arranged for Dom Pedro to marry the king's unstable daughter Maria, the heiress to the throne. Pombal encouraged the couple to live with their children in the unfinished palace at Queluz, away from the seat of government. It had always been a favourite retreat of the couple and was their principal home before Maria's accession. Further enlargements were made to reflect the palace's elevation from country retreat to royal palace. However, Maria had dismissed Pombal on her accession and, as a ruling monarch, she did not have time to while away her hours in the country. Dom Pedro interfered little in affairs of state, preferring to spend his time on religious matters.
By the death of Dom Pedro in 1786, all the interior work was completed. This was fortunate, as from this period his widow's mental health deteriorated, until in 1794, she and her court took up official and full-time residence at Queluz. There the now completely insane Queen could be hidden from the view of her subjects. Her eldest son, later King João VI, was appointed Regent and ruled from Lisbon and the great palace at Mafra.
In 2004, the World Monuments Fund began a program to restore the lead sculptures by British sculptor John Cheere, as well as some of the other features of the garden. The project is ongoing.
Interior
The interior of the palace received no less attention to detail and design than the exterior. French artisans were employed to decorate the rooms, many of which are small, their walls and ceilings painted to depict allegorical and historical scenes. Polished red bricks were frequently used for the floors, for a rustic appearance as well as coolness in hot weather. The many tall pavilions which link the various lower wings of the palace allow for a series of long low rooms broken by higher and lighter rooms. A predominant feature of the interiors is the azulejos: polychrome glazed tiles, often in a chinoiserie style with tones of blues and yellows contrasting with muted reds. Materials for use on the interior included stone imported from Genoa and woods from Brazil, Denmark and Sweden, while coloured marbles were imported from Italy. Many of the palace's rooms were severely damaged by fire in 1934, and much was lost.
The state apartments
The Sala das Mangas
The Sala das Mangas (the only room in the state apartments to fully survive the 1934 fire) is a long gallery lined with tiled wall panels. The gallery leads to the enfilade of state rooms, all of which have been fully restored. The formal rooms of the palace consist of three large halls: The Hall of Ambassadors, The Music Room and the Ball Room. Other smaller rooms include the Gun Room (where hunting parties would assemble), which is a frescoed salon painted with trees and foliage by Pillement.
The Music Room
The Music Room which follows the "Sala dos Embaixadores" is decorated with gilded and painted wood and was redesigned in 1768. The ceiling inset with painted cartouches is notable for the intricate ribbed scheme of its design, similar to that of the vestibule at Caserta. The Music Room is decorated in a more neoclassical style than the other state rooms, reflecting its redesign in the period following the Baroque Rococo in the final half of the 18th century. This room was the setting for the large concerts for which the palace was famous. The room still contains the Empire grand piano decorated with gilt appliques. Like many other rooms of the palace, the Music Room is lit by huge crystal chandeliers.
The Ball Room
The Ballroom, the last of the palace's three largest rooms, was designed by Robillon in 1760. To create this oval room the architect combined five smaller rooms. The ormolu Rococo ornament takes the form of heavy gilding to the walls and ceiling, of such richness that it has been compared with that of François de Cuvilliés' Amalienburg at Schloss Nymphenburg. The walls and doors are mirrored and the painted and gilded, coffered ceiling is supported by golden caryatids.
The Hall of Ambassadors
The Hall of Ambassadors ("Sala dos Embaixadores"), sometimes called the throne room or the Hall of Mirrors, was designed by Robillon in 1757 and is one of the largest reception rooms in the palace. This long low room has a ceiling painted by Francisco de Melo which depicts the Portuguese royal family attending a concert during the reign of Queen Maria I. The room is extremely wide and light, spanning the full width of the palace, with tall windows on both sides. Between each window is a semi-circular gilt console table above which are pier glasses adorned with crystal sconces. The throne dais, set in an apse, is flanked by gilded and mirrored columns, and the floor is a chequer board pattern of black and white marble tiles.
The Chapel
During the occupancy of the palace by Dom Pedro and Maria I, the chapel was central to the daily routine of their court. It was no coincidence that the chapel was the first part of the palace to be completed and was consecrated as early as 1752. Religion was one of Dom Pedro's favourite interests. During the reign of his wife he attended to matters spiritual and she to matters temporal. The Queen's interest in religion was, however, no less fevered than that of her husband—the couple attended mass several times a day. Following Dom Pedro's death, the Queen abandoned all festivities at the palace, and state receptions assumed the air of religious ceremonies. Finally the Queen's instability and religious mania degenerated into complete insanity. Queluz and its chapel then became her permanent retreat from the world until she was forced to flee from the advancing French in 1807 to Brazil. She died there in Rio de Janeiro in 1816.
The chapel beneath its large onion dome is dark and cavernous and decorated with carved giltwood, the detailing highlighted in red, green, blue and pink, by the Portuguese sculptor Silvestre Faria Lobo. The upper level has galleries for the use of royal personages who would sit apart from the congregation. One of these galleries contains a small Rococo pipe organ. A feature of the chapel is the ornate portable font, its marble basin resting in an elaborate Rococo frame surmounted by a carved wood cover.
Grounds
Queluz is famed for the glory of its gardens, which include a large topiary parterre laid out in the manner of Le Nôtre at the rear of the palace. The Flemish influences, including the canals, in the garden are the work of the Dutch gardener Gerald van der Kolk, who assisted Robillon from 1760. Formal terraces and walkways are given extra interest by statuary and fountains. The dominant feature of the principal parterre is the "Portico dos Cavalinhos", a garden temple flanked by two allegorical equestrian statues depicting Fames, and two sphinxes surreally dressed in 18th-century costume, combining the formal and the fantastic. This surreal theme continues elsewhere in the gardens where such motifs as the rape of the Sabines and the death of Abel alternate with statuary of donkeys dressed in human clothing. Deeper in the gardens is a grotto complete with a cascade. Later to be a popular feature in Portuguese gardens, the Queluz cascade was the first artificial waterfall to be constructed near Lisbon.
An avenue of huge magnolias forms the approach to the classical Robillon wing of the palace, while from the wing a double staircase leads to the canal. More than 100 metres (330 ft) long, the walls of the canal are decorated with tiled panels depicting seascapes and associated scenes. This is the largest of a series of canals in the gardens bordered with chinoiserie-style azulejo tiles. Fed by a stream, the sluice gates to the canals are only opened in May. During the 18th century, the canals were the setting for fêtes champêtres during which fully rigged ships would sail in processions with figures aboard in allegorical costumes.
The gardens also contain a fountain with tritons and dolphins which has been attributed to Bernini. There are further fountains and statuary in the lower gardens, including an important collection of statues by the British sculptor John Cheere (1709–1787). These gardens are set within tall hedges of yew and cypress, and magnolia and mulberry trees planted by Marshal Junot during the French occupation in the Napoleonic wars.
National Monument
In the 21st century, the palace gardens, once an irrigated oasis in the centre of parched farmland, are bounded by the "Radial de Sintra" motorway which feeds traffic towards Lisbon and away from Sintra. However, transportation and tourism have been important infrastructural catalysts for the palace's maintenance and management.
Since 1940 it has been open to the public as a museum. It houses much of the former royal collection, including furniture, Arraiolos carpets, paintings, and Chinese and European ceramics and porcelain.
The town square that the palace faces, "Largo do Palácio de Queluz", remains relatively unaltered since the 18th century. The large houses, once the homes of courtiers, and the former Royal Guard quarters with its campanile are still clustered around the palace.
In latter years, the town of Queluz has expanded considerably to become one of the suburbs of Lisbon. The Palace of Queluz is one of most notable public landmarks in the Lisbon metropolitan area.
State guest house
The Pavilhão de D. Maria I (Queen Maria I Pavilion), which makes up the palace's southernmost wing, was built during the third, and final, construction phase, executed by Manuel Caetano de Sousa, which lasted from 1786, the year of King Pedro III's death, until 1792.
In 1957, the Queen Maria I Pavilion was renovated to serve as the Portuguese Government's official state guest house, for visiting heads of state and government. The planned state tour of Queen Elizabeth II in 1957 was a principal motivating factor in the pavilion's renovation into a state guest house.
Today, the pavilion continues to house visiting dignitaries. Therefore, its state rooms are not open to the public as part of the Queluz Palace national monument, as they are used for official entertaining by state officials.

Palace of Queluz

The Fort of São Sebastião de Caparica (Portuguese: Forte de São Sebastião de Caparica) also known as the Tower of São Sebastião (Portuguese: Torre de São Sebastião) or Fortress of the Old Tower (Portuguese: Fortaleza de Torre Velha) is a medieval fortification located in Monte da Caparica, civil parish of Caparica, in the municipality of Almada, in the Portuguese central region of Península de Setúbal.

The fortress of Torre Velha is one of the more important examples of Renaissance-era military architecture, at a time when it served as part of an integrated system of defensive artillery outposts at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century, in particular with the bulwarks of Cascais (1498) and São Vicente (1512).

History

The Old Tower, situated on the southern margin of the Tagus River, was commissioned by King John II, on the same site of the older Fort of Caparica (which was built in the reign of his father, King John I). The fort received its name Torre Velha mostly because the structure was considered "older" than the Tower of São Vicente (Portuguese: Torre de São Vicente), which later be known as the Tower of Belém. Its original structure, from the sketches of Garcia de Resende, comprised a tower and bulwark, similar to model developed years later in the Fort of Santiago da Barra (Viana do Castelo) and Tower of Belém (Lisbon). Defenses along the estuary and port of Lisbon were based on a system of three towers, which were refurbished with modern artillery (including the Bulwarks of Cascais and the São Vicente), which cooperated with the naval artillery (which patrolled the waters of the river) to enforce military and fiscal authority.

In 1571, following similar initiatives taken at several forts along the Portuguese coast, King Sebastian ordered the remodeling of the tower. At the time, the fort was named in honour of São Brás (Saint Blaise), the patron saint of artillerymen in the Portuguese tradition, and changed to honour the young King (lost at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir) and Saint Sebastian.  Under the responsibility of Afonso Álvares, the new project transformed the fort into a massive fortress, becoming referred to as the Fortress of São Sebastião da Caparica (Portuguese: Fortaleza de São Sebastião da Caparica).  Between 1580 and 1640 it was referred locally as the Torre dos Castelhanos (Tower of the Castilians), where it was remodeled structurally to meet the requirements of the Philippine Dynasty.

Between 1640 and the 18th century, a branch of the Távora dynastic clan in Almada served as governors of the Old Tower, taking particular attention to the remodel the structures during the 17th century.

By 1692, the fundamental aspects of the fort were established; the 15th century towers, the walls along the east and south, the three bulwarks, governor's residence, chapel (consecrated to Saint Blaise and Saint Sebastian), integrated coat-of-arms and staircase along the southeast facade.  In the second half of the 18th century, there are indications that the terrain (and buildings) along the river were consolidated. These aspects were recorded in the Coleção Casa de Cadaval (Cadaval House Collection) in the Torre do Tombo archives.

Information from 1767 showed the Old Tower (now known as São Sebastião) on a mountain, opposite the Tower of Belém in the north, acting as a crossfire zone with Belém.

In a report written on 9 September 1794, by Guilherme Luís António de Valleré, directed to the Minister of War (Portuguese: Ministro da Guerra), the Duke of Lafões, it was indicated that the tower was undergoing restoration. This restoration continued from 1794 to 1796, under the direction of Colonel Francisco D'Alincourt.

The fortresses of the southern margin were deactivated in 1801, at the end of the Guerra das Laranjas (War of the Oranges). A survey completed at the end of 1808 included a precise inventory of the armaments in the fort at the time of its decommissioning, including: five 36-caliber bronze pieces, four 18-caliber, nine 12-caliber, five 24-calibre iron pieces, nine 18-calibre iron pieces, six 6-calibre iron pieces; six 45-calibre artillery pieces in state of disrepair; nine 12-calibre in the same condition; in addition to, two marine 36-caliber carts; five marine 24-calibre carts; 13 18-calibre marine carts; six 6-calibre marine carts; and 2400 balls (of two-, eight-, 18- and 36-caliber).

It was suggested that in 1811, the space used to warehouse artillery accessories was used from prisoners.  Similarly, on 13 August 1814, it was determined that the Fort could serve as quarantine for lodging passengers and crews suspected of carrying epidemias. This included Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro who was suspected of yellow fever, and was eventually sent to Brazil; the artist and humorist, regrettably, made light of Portuguese regulations and poor treatment facilities after his experience.

On 29 May 1815, the fort was deactivated by order of the government, while part of its buildings were conserved as lodging for the security forces used to guard guaranteed peoples and those with leprosy.

A new survey of the munitions on site in January 1828, revealed a smaller quantity of artillery, including: one 28-caliber iron piece; six 6-caliber iron pieces; 17 13-caliber iron pieces; two 98-caliber iron mortars; 2,500 balls (of various calibers) and 50 9-caliber bombs.

In 1832, the tower was remodeled and reactivated once more. On recommissioning the batteries had a smaller complement of munitions and artillery, including: two 26-caliber pieces; six 24-caliber pieces and three 18-caliber weapons. The complement of soldiers garrisoning the site included one subordinate, one sergeant, three privates and 31 soldiers.

By the middle of the 19th century, the Old Tower was declared of no interest, and began acting as a second-class military square. But, by 1894, the site was no longer used for this purpose, and began to serve as storage and housing (actin as an annex for the munitions warehouses of Porto Brandão).

In 1859, it medical lodging-role was discontinued, passing to another institution nearby, although the guards continued to be housed onsite. Eventually, the fortress was abandoned.

The process to classify the Old Tower began in 1982, ending in its recognition as a National Monument (Portuguese: Monumento Nacional) on 12 April 1996.

Architecture

The structure is located on Periurban, a hill on the southern shore of the Tagus River, between two small creeks, that of the Porto Brandão and Paulina, approximately opposite the Tower of Belém.

The U-shaped plan is formed from three corps, two oriented to the south, with the final "rounded" block (joining the two), serving as the battery's esplanade.  At the southwest corner of the fortress, is the bulwark and watchtower. Around the principal nucleus of the fortress is a second tier of spaces used for lodging; there are three bulwarks and barracks (one on the northeast, another along the southeast and a final in the south, along the wall with cannons). Owing to erosion of the front/seaside facade, it is impossible to determine any further archaeological significance. The buildings over the older parapets were the result of the structure's transformation into shelter/residences for lepers, and consist of six "T" shaped extensions to the main structure: the Asilo de Caparica (Asylum of Caparica).

The central corp of the fort is an ample rectangular space with doorway and window, with the residence of the governor alongside. The fortress survived into 20th century, maintained many of the fundamental aspects established in the 17th century, in a plan designed in 1692. The design was ostensibly a "U" shaped plan, composed of three spaces and three bulwarks with barracks, one of the extremities of the fort extends from a battlement to a watchtower. Alongside the gate, is a chapel, constructed and dedicated to São Sebastião.

The central body of the Old Tower was a rectangular plan, with the Governor's house inside. The old gate of the main square, near the tower, includes a coat-of-arms of Portugal.

The battlements consist of 15th century stonework, while the tower, the corbels, gatehouse and gateway access to the chapel were constructed in the 17th century. At the end of the 18th century, the fortress received new remodeling, possibly consolidation of the fortifications, under the supervision of Colonel Francisco D'Alincourt.

The battlements and machicolations are still visible on the walls, with the beams of another on the top floors. This part of the tower is covered in a barrel vault, while a terrace is located on its surface, with an external staircase to access the second floor (between the floor and roof), allowing communication between both by doorway. Small caliber artillery or machicolations, probably, supported the balcony and wall. A coat-of-arms is located on the lintel of the door, in the old military square, with the Portuguese heraldry.