O Forte de Santo Antônio de Tavira, também conhecido como Forte do Rato ou Forte da Ilha das Lebres, localiza-se a Leste do sítio das Quatro Águas, na foz do rio Gilão, junto à barra da cidade de Tavira, no Distrito de Faro, em Portugal.

História

Foi mandado edificar de raiz na segunda metade do século XVI, no reinado de D. Sebastião (1568-1578) de forma a proteger a entrada da barra e, simultaneamente, a cidade de Tavira. Esta construção não se veio a mostrar de grande utilidade uma vez que, ainda durante a sua construção, verificaram-se alterações na linha de costa e, consequentemente, na entrada da barra, a qual se desloca, progressivamente para Levante, retirando eficiência defensiva àquela infraestrutura.

Encontrava-se em construção quando da visita do rei D. Sebastião (1568-1578) aquela cidade, no ano de 1573. Foi colocado sob a invocação de Santo António.

Notícia de 1577 dá conta de que a barra natural do rio Gilão localizava-se defronte à Fortaleza de Santo António.

No contexto da Guerra da Restauração da Independência, a sua estrutura foi remodelada, passando a complementar a defesa da Forte de São João da Barra de Tavira, no sítio da Gomeira, iniciada em 1672. Uma notícia de 1717, dá conta de que a barra natural do rio já se encontrava defronte ao sítio da Gomeira e, portanto, da nova fortificação.

Em 1792, numa relação do armamento existente neste forte, aponta-se que ele estava guarnecido por nove homens e artilhado com duas peças, estando uma sem apetrechos.

Em 1821, esta edificação encontrava-se guarnecida apenas por três homens, sem artilharia, com a porta bastante danificada e o armanezamento de pólvora em estado de abandono.

A fortaleza esteve ativa até 1840, quando, perdida a sua função militar, foi abandonada por ordem do Governador da Província do Algarve, brigadeiro Francisco de Paula Vieira da Silva Tovar, 1º visconde de Molelos.

Encontra-se classificado como Imóvel de Interesse Público pelo Decreto 8/83, publicado em 24 de Janeiro de 1983. Desde a década de 1980 foram-lhe promovidas intervenções de consolidação e recuperação, nomeadamente no Portão de Armas e nos panos de muralha, além de limpeza e sinalização do espaço interno.

Forte de Santo António de Tavira

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The Castle of Tavira (Portuguese: Castelo de Tavira) is a medieval castle located in the parish of Santiago, Tavira municipality, Faro district of Portugal. In a dominant position over the mouth of the river Gilão, the settlement has developed as an important sea port since antiquity, with its predecessors dating back to the 8th century BC, passing through the hands of phoenicians, greeks, celts, carthaginians, romans, moors and the Portuguese crown.

History

Early history

Although the early human occupation of the region dates back to prehistoric times, an archaeological campaign undertaken in 1997 revealed a Phoenician wall of section dating from the eighth century BC. This colony of sailors and traders was the first proof of establishment.

When the Romans invaded the Iberian Peninsula, the village, then called Balsa, acquired strategic importance due to the presence of a bridge over the river.

The town later came under the control of the Moors in their conquest of the region.

Medieval era

At the time of the Christian reconquest of the peninsula, Portuguese forces reached the eastern Algarve from 1238. Tavira was conquered on June 11, 1239 (May 1240, according to Alexandre Herculano or even 1242 according to other sources), by the forces under the command of D. Paio Peres Correia, Master of the Order of Santiago. Tradition associates this achievement with a reprisal by that Order for the death of seven of its knights in an ambush while hunting on the site of Antas, in the current parish of Luz.

On January 9, 1242 (or 1244 according to other sources), Sancho II of Portugal (1223-1248) donated the domains of Tavira and the patronage of his church to the Order of Santiago, a donation confirmed in 1245 by Pope Innocent IV.

Pretending that the city had been conquered by a Castilian Military Order, Alfonso X of Castile claimed it for himself, coming to impose siege and conquer it in 1252. The following year, a treaty was signed by which Alfonso III of Portugal (1248-1279) would marry Afonso X's daughter and, if that union resulted in a son who would turn seven, his maternal grandfather would give him the gift of the Algarve. Since the conditions of this legislation were fulfilled in 1264, Afonso X delivered the Algarve to Afonso III by letter of 20 September, set in Seville. Because of this act, the Portuguese sovereign granted foral letters to various Algarvian villages, the first of which Tavira in August 1266.

Under the reign of King Dinis (1279–1325), the castle was repaired and reinforced and the village fence expanded around the year 1292. The sovereign, by Royal Letter of April 15, 1303, extended the privileges of the residents, preventing their property from being seized or sold except for debts with the Crown.

At the time of the 1383-1385 succession crisis, the Master of Avis, future John I of Portugal (1385-1433) donated Reguengo de Tavira to Fernão Álvares Pereira, brother of Constable Nuno Álvares Pereira. Later, after the conquest of Ceuta, started the process of the Portuguese Discoveries, the village would see its strategic and economic importance increase. The castle, however, showed risk of collapse, according to the complaint of its people before the courts of 1475.

Under the reign of Manuel I of Portugal (1495–1521), the village received the "Foral Novo" (1504), raising it to city status on March 16, 1520, among other important privileges. Vasco Eanes Corte-Real was the Alcaide-mor at the time.

In 1573, when King Sebastian (1568–1578) visit Tavira, construction work on the Santo Antonio Fort (Forte do Rato), in front of the Gilão river bar in 1577, was in progress.

Later, in the context of the Portuguese Restoration War, John VI of Portugal (1640–1656) confirmed all the privileges granted to Tavira by his predecessors, determining works to modernize the medieval castle, reinforcing its structure and adapting it to the shots of the then modern artillery. The defense of the village was complemented, in 1672, by the beginning of the construction of the São João da Barra de Tavira Fortress, in Gomeira, bordering the Gilão river in 1717.

In the 18th century, the castle's structure was severely damaged by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which certainly contributed to the fact that, in the following centuries, the defensive perimeter of the settlement was dismantled to a great extent.

The Tavira Castle walls are classified as a National Monument by decree published on May 16, 1939.

Architecture

The walls of Tavira show various construction stages, the oldest of which dating back to the Almoravid period in the late eleventh century or early twelfth century. Although difficult to identify, it is believed to have been integrated by an alcove in the southeast angle and by a walled enclosure oriented in the north-south direction, both of modest dimensions.

This initial structure was reformed in the Almohad period, when it acquired the main elements that have survived to the present day, from which remains of rammed-earth walls survive. In the area of the current Praça da República, next to the Overseas National Bank building, an old horseshoe arch door was found, associated, in its origin, with a defensive tower. In the area of the current alcáçova, an albarrã tower still remains, multifaceted and facing south, detached from the other structures.

From the conquest by the Christians, a new constructive stage took place, giving it the oval plant still identifiable today, which, in the Low Middle Ages, reached about five hectares, a considerable surface for the time and which attests to the importance of the settlement. From this period, interventions carried out under the reigns of D. Afonso III and Denis of Portugal are noteworthy, believed to date from the latter the remains identified in the grounds of Pensão Castelo, as well as the original configuration of the D. Manuel Gate , in a broken arch still in Gothic style. In the passage to the Modern Age, this door became the main axis of passage between the interior and exterior of the walls, which is why the arms of this sovereign are inscribed on it. The fence then had 7 doors: Fernão Mendes, Mouraria, Postigo, Feição, Vila Fria, D. Manuel and Porta Nova.

Castle of Tavira


O Forte de São Sebastião de Castro Marim localiza-se na vila, Freguesia e Concelho de mesmo nome, no Distrito de Faro, em Portugal.

O forte está implantado a Sul do monte do Castelo, no serro do Cabeço, onde primitivamente existia uma ermida sob a invocação de São Sebastião, demolida quando das obras da fortificação. A sua importância decorre de se constituir no exemplo melhor conservado do que foi o amplo processo de renovação do sistema defensivo da vila nos meados do século XVII.

História

Antecedentes

O forte seiscentista
As suas obras foram iniciadas sob o reinado de D. João IV (1640-1656), a partir de 1641, no contexto da Restauração da Independência Portuguesa, visando reforçar a defesa deste trecho estratégico da fronteira. O seu projeto visava modernizar a proteção proporcionada pelo antigo castelo medieval transformando a povoação na principal praça-forte algarvia à época.

O conjunto defensivo é complementado pelo Revelim de Santo António de Castro Marim, a Leste da povoação.

Características

O forte apresenta planta poligonal orgânica (adaptada ao terreno), com cinco baluartes.

O portão principal está voltado a Norte, na direção da vila, comunicando-se com o antigo Castelo por um pano de muralha e entrada coberta. Observa-se, desse modo, a integração do sistema abaluartado setecentista com o antigo recinto muralhado da povoação.

Forte de São Sebastião de Castro Marim

The Castle of Castro Marim is a medieval castle on a hilltop overlooking the civil parish of Castro Marim, in the municipality of the same name, in the Portuguese Algarve. The castle was part of the defensive line controlled by the Knights Templar, a stronghold used during the Portuguese Reconquista, and adapted during the Restoration War to defend the frontier.

The castle is located in a unique landscape due to the proximity of salt and mouth of the Guadiana River. Within the castle fortification are two epigraphic inscriptions: one, the first to record a settlement established by a Portuguese monarch, while the second carving identifies the alterations occurring under the reign of King Denis.

History

In the vicinity of the fortress there must have existed a castro, dating to the Neolithic period, and successively occupied by Phoenicians, Greeks (854 BC) and Carthaginians (at the end of the 4th century BC). This settlement was finally destroyed in a major cataclysm, before the arrival of the Romans. Following their arrival, the fortification was reconstructed and began occupying an important regional position economically and politically, extending into the Moorish occupation.

Throughout the decade of 1230, the Portuguese Reconquista of the eastern Algarve, by forces of the Order of Santiago, created an influx of settlers into the region of Castro Marim. In 1238, King Sancho II of Portugal captured the mouth of the Guadiana River, which laid the scene for the definitive capture of Castro Marim in 1242, by Paio Peres Correia. Its place along the former Arab-Christian divide meant that settlement by Christians remained weak, resulting in the initiatives in 1274 by King Afonso III of Portugal to populate the settlement of Castro Marim. On 8 July 1277, a foral charter was issued by the King in order to create incentives to settlement, at the same time ordering the reconstruction of the fortress.

During the last quarter of the 13th century, King Denis of Portugal compensating for the loss of Ayamonte to Castile, reinforced the fortifications of Castro Marim, then referred to as Castelo Velho (Old Castle), and then constructed the Castelo de Fora (the barbican) to defend the population of the settlement. On 1 July 1279, the replacement or construction of the castle gate began: it was one of the first public works begun under the reign of King Denis (from an inscription located on the site). This project was part of the larger expansion of Portuguese control, conferred officially on 1 May 1282, when the King issued an expanded foral decree (charter) for Castro Marim and its surroundings.

In a papal bull issued by Pope John XXII, on 14 March 1319, Castro Marim (which was part of the bishopric of Silves), was donated to the recently created Military Order of Christ, establishing its first headquarters in Castro Marim because the "castle is very strong and has a favorable defensive place, which is on the frontier with other known enemies". In 1334, the Order's headquarters moved to Tomar, resulting in the castle's abandon, but the settlement's administration was transferred to the Order of Santiago, who began constructing the Church of Santiago within the castle's square.

On 10 April 1421, King John I authorized the settlement of 40 malcontents, in order to expand the population and promote settlement.

In April 1453, King Afonso V visited the castle and issued decrees to regulate the fishing in the settlement.

On 20 August 1504, a new foral was issued by King Manuel I who ordered the restoration of the fortifications, including the walls of the castle. Designs were executed in 1509-1510, by Duarte de Armas, with several modernized barbicans (a missing or destroyed merlons) and irregular plant, that accompanied the topography of the region and encompassed the village. In the eastern corner was a rectangular tower lined with merlons and accessed by a large gate with arched door; to the west was a smaller tower, but with a gate surmounted by a sculpted coat-of-arms (with main shield and five smaller shields); in the north, was a small arch close to the ground for sewage, flanked by barbicans; and to the north, the rectangular castle was constructed with cylindrical towers in each corner, surmounted by merlons and crowned by a conical wood structure (likely ceiling beams with tile); the southern aspect also included a cell block/tower, with low rectangular bulwark and two levels of windows. The keep consisted of a rectangular bulwark, with a false portico, protected by low body protruding from the wall, devoid of merlons. In the interior of the fortress's longitudinal courtyard were various shelters, including a chapel and two cisterns. Within the historic town walls were visible the two- to three-storey houses, a chapel with a double belfrey, with a few homes to the east and west.

In 1600, Henrique Fernandes Sarrão wrote that the castle had "three gates within the impenetrable castle, that was rebuilt from scratch, with a tall tower". With the Restoration War, the fortress was remodelled around 1640 with a bulwark, and concluded during the reign of King Afonso VI. The region's defenses were divided between this castle and the Fort of São Sebastião and the Revelim of Santo António.

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake caused the raising of the old town within the walls of the castle, resulting in its reconstruction outside the walls. The damage extended to the Church of Santiago, which was completely ruined, resulting in its transfer to the Hermitage of Nossa Senhora dos Mártires,[6] while the castle was ordered reconstructed by King Joseph.

The Direcção Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais first intervened between 1942 and 1952 in the castle's recuperation, that included the reconstruction and consolidation of the masonry walls; repair of the staircases and corners; and reconstruction of the roofs and ceilings in wood, as well as the repair and painting of the altars. Six years later they were re-touching the interiors and exteriors, with the construction of the drainage walls near the hermitage.

In 1960 the spaces were adapted for a museum, which included further repairs to the walls, reconstruction of the vaulted ceilings and arches, repairs to the capitals and columns, in addition to the construction of the Portuguese-style pavement.

By 28 February 1969, the castle suffered the effects of a new earthquake.

The gradual consolidation of various constructions in the interior of the castle began in 1977, that included the restoration of the powder magazine and the Renaissance-era chapel, but also the execution of public works to repair the masonry and repair the ceiling tiles. The continuation of the fortress' repairs extended into 1978, with the demolition of the masonry that harmed the interior of the chapel and later repairs to the masonry walls: the same repairs were repeated in 1979, 1980, 1982 and 1983.

Between 2000 and November 2003, the archeologist Ana Margarida Arruda undertook a series of excavations within the limits of the castle.

Between 2007 and 2008 the local authority approved a budget of six million Euros destined for the re-qualification and consolidation of the castle and fortress.

Architecture

The castle is located in an urban context, implanted harmoniously on a geological platform overlooking the limits of the town of Castro Marim, on the eastern margin of the Guadiana River and integrated into the Marsh Nature Reserve of Castro Marim. Within the walled perimeter of the fortress is the Church of Santiago and behind a veil of walls, the Fort of São Sebastião.

The outer fortification of the city is in the form of an irregular triangle, encircled by a battlement with merlons, on the south by a platform, and two low rectangular towers on the east and west (both covered by terraces with simple doors). The latter tower doorway is surmounted by historical coat-of-arms of Portugal and inscription. The commemorative inscription marked the settlement of Castro Marim by King Afonso III was carved onto sandstone, with the coat-of-arms sculpted in relief, showing five castles, four shields forming a cross.

On the north wall, is the old castle, a trapedzodinal/semi-rectangular enclosure/plan, encircled by merlons and four cylindrical towers on each corner. To the north and south are arch doorways, one with a coat-of-arms and inscription.

In the interior there are two-storey buildings to the west and north, with rectangular doors and windows, and to the east by the ruins of the square and dependencies). Along the exterior, on the south wall, are vestiges of a keep dominated by bulwarks. In the community are a few visible structures and ruins of rectangular laneways, one with an arch. The commemorative inscription marks the start of construction of the castle, framed by simple filleted frame and surmounted by a shield composed of three escutcheons (similar to the one encountered on the barbican). 

Castle of Castro Marim

THIS FORMER STATELY HOME HAD a fragmented history before it was renovated into a luxury hotel.
Construction on the home began in the 1840s. However, work ceased when the owner died and the structure stood incomplete for many years. That is until local businessman, José Francisco da Silva, financed a project with his fortune to complete the grand design.
The result was a unique example within Portugal of Romantic-style architecture with its fine pink rococo façade and Versailles-style gardens. Inside, the palace has a rococo-style décor, with frescoes, elaborate carvings, wood paneling, ornate stucco ceilings, and gilded furniture. The gardens are arranged on three levels, all connected by grand staircases decorated in vibrant blue azulejo tiles with hidden grottos below. Construction of the palace was completed in 1909. 
The grand palace, with its luxurious neoclassical details along with the work of Silva, was noticed by King Carlos I, who was so impressed that he appointed Silva the title of Viscount of Estoi.
After Silva’s death in 1926, the palace then passed between several family members and new owners. In 1977, the palace and its gardens, fountains, and statues were classified as a Property of Public Interest. By the 1980s, the estate had fallen into a state of disrepair and it was eventually acquired by Faro Municipal Council.
The restoration of the palace and grounds was financed by the Portuguese Tourist Office, and the palace was converted into a Pousada (a state-owned hotel in a building of historical interest). Restoration and renovations were completed in 2009 by award-winning architect Gonçalo Byrne. It was then converted into a luxury hotel. 
Know Before You Go
Less than ten kilometers from the city of Faro. There is regular bus service from Faro to Estoi. 
The gardens are open to visitors, including those not staying as guests at the hotel. Access to the gardens is via the hotel's main entrance. The gardens are floodlight at night.
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