Built in the end of the 15th century, the Alvito Castle was probably built under the order of D. Diogo Lobo da Silveira, Baron of Alvito, in the reign of king D. joão II(1481 to 1495), with residential purposes.

The Castle was not involved into military conflicts, yet it received the visit kings and queens.
The Castle’s architecture reinforces this idea of a residential unit, as one can observe by the many windows in the towers, conferring a look of a fortified house, which at that time was a Royal privilege.

Probably due to its long use as a house, the building has been maintained in a good conservation state, despite the disappearance of some features such as the bridge that was used as main door.

The liberal wars lead into the abandonment of the castle for many years, until the intervention of the Bragança House Foundation, which offered the utilization of the building as a luxury and historical hotel: the Alvtito Castle Pousada.

Some say that before the construction of this monument, a previous Castle may have existed here, dating back to the 13th century, yet there are no official confirmations, yet this region presents several ancient occupancy testimonies, with many archaeological vestiges, such as Roman coins, tombs and buildings ruins.

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Castelo de Alvito

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The Castle of Viana do Alentejo (Portuguese: Castelo de Viana do Alentejo) is a gothic castle constructed during the reconquest and settlement of the central region of the Portuguese Alentejo, located in the parish of Viana do Alentejo, municipality of the same name. Although a relatively low-profile design, in comparison to its contemporaries (such as the Castle of Portel or Castle of Feira), the structure served the period of strife associated with expansion of Portuguese forces/authority into the southern Algarve.

History

The castle was founded in 1313; on establishing a foral (charter) to this village in 1313, King Denis ordered the construction of an encirclement of walls where this town lies, of 400 arms [length] donating 100,000 pounds for the public works. However, the fortification that exists in Viana do Alentejo "..does not match this regal intention regal...and the latest research lean towards the probability that [his subjects had] not gotten around to building it...[therefore] may the Castle of Viana do Alentejo be a work of the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century?

Reference to the completed fortifications occurred in 1490, when the first mention was made to repairs to the walls, battlements and pinnacles.

The DGEMN Direcção Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais (Directorate-General of Buildings and National Monuments) began a process of restoration and refurbishment in 1940, which included repairs to the battlements and walls. A return to this task occurred between 1970 and 1974, and again, in 1976, in addition to repairs to the towers.

Further repairs in 1978 included the execution of new brick masonry bunks, that were knocked down in the garden; consolidation and repair of two towers, with the use of reinforced concrete in one tower that had been split; and plastering in the domes and interior walls.

In 1992, the castle was placed under the management of the IPPAR Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico (Portruguese Institute for Architectural Patrimony), under decree-law 106F/92, before become the responsibility of the Instituto de Gestão do Património Arquitectónico e Arqueológico ( Institute for the Management of Architectural and Archaeological Heritage).

Between the 2000 and 2005, simply referred to as the Projecto de Conservação, Recuperação e Valorização do Castelo de Viana do Alentejo(Project to Conserve, Recuperate and Valorize the Castle of Viana do Alentejo), was begun to advance an archaeological excavation of the site. During those investigations, a necropolis was discovered, while the walls, churches and cross were cleaned and rehabilitated.

Architecture

The castle is implanted on short rise, in the north flanks of the Serra de Viana, isolated on the periphery of the village of Viana do Alentejo. Within its walls are the parochial church aligned to the south wall, and the Church of the Misericórdia along its northwest wall, while the ancient cross of Viana do Alentejo is located approximately at its center.

The plan is an irregular pentagonal, with its base in the south and pointing to the north, consisting of five walls divided by five cylinderal towers at each vertex. The battlements cover the walls of the structure, of exposed brick alternating with openings and slits for protection. The location of the two churches means that these buildings front their respective walls.

Within these limit were constructed the Manueline-era parochial church (1521), attributed to Diogo de Arruda, an important mastercraftsman in the comarca of the Alentejo at the time. Opposite to this building is the Church of the Misericórdia, also attributed to Arruda around the same time. It served as the municipal offices until the end of the 17th century.

Castle of Viana do Alentejo

The Castle of Vidigueira is a castle in the civil parish of Vidigueira in the municipality of Vidigueira in the Portuguese subregion of Baixo Alentejo. Although constructed in the first half of the 15th century, it is more commonly associated with the first of the Counts of Vidigueira: Vasco da Gama.

History

The first Donatary of Vidigueira and castle was Mestre Tomé, treasurer of the Sé Cathedral of Braga during the reign of Afonso III of Portugal, making the construction of the castle part of the repopulation strategy of the 13th century. Mestre Tomé, sometime supplier for the old Matriz church of the settlement, erected and reinforced the castle as a bastion of the defense line of the Guadiana, an important line between Portugal and Castile. A few decades later, at the beginning of the 14th century, King Denis recovered the village of Vidigueira for the Crown of Portugal. In 1385 King John I offered Vidigueira to his constable, Nuno Álvares Pereira. Through his daughter's (D. Beatriz Pereira Alvim) marriage, with D. Afonso, Count of Barcelos and first Duke of Braganza, the castle and courtyard in Vidigueira passed into the possession of the House of Braganza, one of the more opulent in the kingdom.

The fortified rectangular tower, which today can still be appreciated, albeit the state of ruin, dates from the signeurial holdings of Fernando I, Duke of Braganza, in the first half of the 15th Century. With the confiscation of the properties and possessions of the House of Braganza, in 1483, the holdings were re-obtained by the Crown of Portugal, until its annulment in 1500, by Manuel I of Portugal. King Manuel, at that time, signed a foral for the town of Vidigueira, around 1512. But, little time passed, before the same monarch conceded to Vasco da Gama, then Admiral of India, the title of first Count of Vidigueira, compensating the navigator for his adventures.

Once again, the castle left the possession of the House of Braganza; on 7 November 1519, Vasco da Gama signed a contract to sell and renounce these possessions, in favor of the House of Braganza. From Évora the Palace of Vidigueira was transferred, including the not only the palace annex and fortifications. Of this palace, which was an important structure, nothing remains of this structure, except the Manueline window, brought from the Vila de Frades, a possession of the Counts of Vidigueira at the time.

On 1 June 1992, the structure was transferred into the possession of the Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico (IPPAR) (by Decree 106F/92).

Architecture

The castle is located in an urban context, isolated on a plateau. It is situated on the western side of the town, within the urban area, with several buildings/structures surrounding it. Alongside the tower is a Manueline window brought from Vila de Frades, which was judged to have been from the Palace of the Counts of Vidigueira.

A rectangular tower, the castle is a vertical block, with little ornamentation such as merlons. The tower that remains, known as the Atalaia das Vidigueiras, is a soft construction, regularly built, and altered with successive interventions. In a state of partial ruin, there are no coverings to protect what remains, nor merlons to crown the parapets. To the southwest is the beginnings of a wall, today transformed into a staircase, for access to the structure. In the southeast, is a sculpted stone with the coat-of-arms of the Counts of Vidigueira. The coat of arms includes a shield in the centre, with five smaller shields placed in a cruciform.

Castle of Vidigueira

O Castelo de Torre de Coelheiros, no Alentejo, localiza-se na freguesia de Torre de Coelheiros, cidade e concelho de Évora e distrito de Évora, em Portugal.

Histórico

Mais propriamente um solar, acredita-se que a Torre de Coelheiros foi construída por volta de 1357, por iniciativa de Fernão Gonçalves, meirinho-mor do rei D. Afonso IV (1325-1357), com a função de paço senhorial.

No século XX, por falta de conservação, partes da edificação ruiram (1920). Considerada como Imóvel de Interesse Público por Decreto publicado em 18 de Julho de 1957, atualmente a edificação encontra-se compreendida no conjunto da Escola Primária e da Junta de Freguesia. Por essa razão, encontra-se em boas condições de conservação.

Características

Típico solar medieval, a edificação da torre é atualmente ladeada por dois corpos retangulares compostos por pavimento térreo e sobrado. A torre, de planta quadrangular, em alvenaria de pedra, atinge 15 metros de altura, coroada por merlões em estilo mourisco. É complementada por cunhais, seteiras e mata-cães aparelhados em cantaria de granito. O corpo lateral a norte, em melhor estado de conservação, é coroado por uma larga chaminé com remate cupular, e conserva ainda, nas janelas em granito, algo da tipologia solarenga tardo-medieval. O corpo a oeste aparenta ser de construção setecentista e encontra-se degradado, tendo ruído parte dos muros.

