One of the reminders of Arraiolos’s foundation is the massive medieval fortress wall which sits on Monte de San Pedro, a hill north of the present town of Arraiolos. Castelo Arraiolos was built by order of King D. Dinis, but the site itself is believed to have been a prehistoric settlement dating to 300BC.

Arraiolos Castle

The Arraiolos castle dominates over the town of Arraiolos. To give an idea of the size of the structure, when King Dinis signed a contract in 1305 for the fortress wall to be built, it was specified that the wall should be 455.4 metres in length, 6.6m high and 2.2m thick. From the top of the hill there is a good view of the entire area and it is no wonder that King Dinis chose this spot to build his castle. Within the fortress walls was where all manner of village life existed.

This changed in the 14th century when the people began moving down to the valley where it was less windy and cold. King Ferdinand tried to induce the people to stay by granting a series of privileges, but that strategy failed.

When the Arraiolos Castle was passed into the hands of Nunos Alvares Pereira, who was granted the title of the Earl of Arraiolos, he used the castle as a base for military expeditions against the Kingdom of Castella. By the 17th century, the castle had fallen into a state of ruin. When Castelo Arraiolos was classified as a Portuguese National Monument in the 1960s, the walls were restored to its present perfect condition.

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Castelo de Arraiolos

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O Palácio do Conde de Azarujinha é um palácio alentejano situado na Azaruja, localidade do concelho de Évora, Portugal.
Trata-se dum edifício simples, com um único andar sobre o piso térreo, em estilo neoclássico construido no decorrer do século XIX. Era frente a este palácio que se realizavam as feiras francas. Separada por uma pequena rua, fica a igreja palaciana, edifício que completa o conjunto.
O Conde de Azarujinha ficou conhecido por, em finais do século XIX, ter dividido uma das suas propriedades em 200 pequenas courelas - 90 na própria freguesia de São Bento do Mato (Courelas da Azaruja) e as restantes na vizinha freguesia de São Miguel de Machede (Courelas da Toura) - como forma de fixar população.
Este palácio encontra-se, de alguma forma, ligado às lutas liberais. Acredita-se, tradicionalmente, que numa das salas ocupada pelo Quartel General do Exército de D. Pedro IV, foi redigido e assinado o documento de rendição imposto, em Maio de 1834, pelo Duque da Terceira e pelo Marechal Saldanha ao Rei D. Miguel, depois da tomada de Arraiolos e Vimieiro. Daqui terão partido dois cabos de guerra para o Castelo de Évoramonte, onde foi firmada a Convenção que pôs termo às lutas liberais.

Conde de Azarujinha Palace

O Castelo de Évora, no Alentejo, localiza-se na cidade e Distrito de mesmo nome, em Portugal.

História

Antecedentes

Embora se acredite que a primitiva ocupação do sítio da atual Évora remonte à pré-história, o seu povoamento alcançou expressão à época da Invasão romana da Península Ibérica, quando ali existiu um ópido denominado Ebora Cereal (em latim: Eboras Cerealis).

Fiel ao imperador Júlio César, atingiu maior importância regional, quando recebeu importantes obras públicas, passando a ser designada como Liberalidade Júlia (c. 60 a.C.), conforme o testemunham os importantes vestígios arqueológicos entre os quais se destacam as ruínas de um templo em honra ao Imperador e os vestígios de muralhas no Largo da Misericórdia e junto ao Passeio de Diana.

Com o advento do cristianismo, a cidade tornou-se sede de um bispado desde o século IV. A sua importância manteve-se à época do domínio dos Visigodos, quando se tornou um centro de amoedação. Nesse período, as suas defesas foram ampliadas, conforme o testemunham três das torres então erguidas, entre as quais a chamada Torre de Sisebuto. As suas feições não foram sensivelmente alteradas durante o posterior domínio Muçulmano.

O castelo medieval

À época da Reconquista cristã da península, Évora foi inicialmente tomada pelas forças de D. Afonso Henriques (1159). Retomada em pouco tempo pelos Muçulmanos, a sua conquista definitiva só seria alcançada pelo lendário Geraldo Sem Pavor, em 1165, com o auxílio dos primeiros cavaleiros da Ordem de Calatrava, fundada em Castela dois anos antes, e que, em Portugal, receberam o nome de Frades de Évora por aqui terem se estabelecido. Documentos indicam que já em 1181 estes monges-cavaleiros eram denominados como Ordem de Évora, vindo a se denominar, cerca de meio século mais tarde Ordem de Avis, quando elegeram aqueles domínios por sede.

Durante o reinado de D. Sancho I (1185-1211), foi com o auxílio destes cavaleiros que a cidade resistiu ao assalto das forças do Califado Almóada comandadas por Iacube Almançor (1191), quando as fronteiras portuguesas foram empurradas até à linha do rio Tejo.

Embora se atribua o início de significativas obras de ampliação das defesas de Évora ao reinado de D. Dinis (1279-1325), é mais correto atribuí-las ao de D. Afonso IV (1325-1357), monarca que aqui residiu por largos períodos e de onde partiu para a batalha do Salado (1340). Documentos na Chancelaria de D. Pedro I (1357-1367) são os primeiros a mencionar a cerca da vila, referindo trabalhos na barbacã, fossos e muros. Essas obras estariam concluídas à época do reinado de D. Fernando (1367-1383), o que leva alguns autores a referirem a defesa externa da vila como cerca fernandina. Neste reinado é pela vez documentalmente referida a Porta do Raimundo (1373).

Afirma-se que por influência de D. Leonor Teles, esteve detido no Castelo de Évora, em 1382, o filho bastardo de D. Pedro I, D. João, Mestre da Ordem de Avis, supostamente acusado de uma conspiração contra o monarca, urdida com a colaboração de Gonçalo Vasques de Azevedo. D. João só conseguiu obter a liberdade apelando à intercessão do conde de Cambridge, filho de Eduardo III de Inglaterra e irmão do duque de Lencastre, comandante das tropas inglesas então em Portugal devido às pretensões de D. Fernando ao trono de Castela.

Obtida a rendição por este estratagema, foi o castelo objeto de depredações, vindo a população a chacinar todos os que, comprovadamente ou não, considerassem partidários da rainha. Entre os que assim pereceram, destacou-se a abadessa das freiras de São Bento, impiedosamente arrastada da Sé, onde se refugiara.

A antiga cerca foi ampliada no reinado de D. Afonso V (1438-1481), registando-se o desvio dos impostos arrecadados para outros fins: desse modo, em 14 de abril de 1445, determinou-se gastar 15.000 reais brancos em vestimentas para o Senado, quando da recepção de D. Joana, rainha de Castela; posteriormente, em 1449, o soberano não autorizou que os impostos lançados para a fábrica do muro se aplicassem em pontes e caminhos.

No século XVI, o primitivo vão, de arco perfeito de silharia, que permitia o acesso a Norte da cerca, foi substituído por outro, dadas as acanhadas dimensões do primeiro. Ainda nesse século, a Porta da Alagoa foi cedida por D. Sebastião (1568-1578) para miradouro das freiras do Convento de Santa Helena do Monte Calvário (1571).

Da Guerra da Restauração à Guerra Peninsular

No contexto da Guerra da Restauração, as defesas de Évora foram modernizadas, recebendo linhas abaluartadas, transformando-se numa Praça-forte. Veio a cair, entretanto, diante do assédio e assalto das forças castelhanas sob o comando de D. João de Áustria (Maio de 1663, ocasião em que a Porta da Alagoa foi arruinada), para ser reconquistada um mês depois, a 24 de Junho, pelas tropas portuguesas.

À época da Guerra Peninsular, insuficientemente guarnecida e com falta de munições, não teve sucesso na resistência à investida das tropas francesas sob o comando do general Louis Henri Loison.

Ainda nesse século, o vão quinhentista que permitia o acesso a Norte foi demolido e substituído pelo atual, por onde passa o tráfego da estrada de Évora a Arraiolos (1845); posteriormente, a Porta do Raimundo foi demolida e substituída (1880).

Os nossos dias

As suas defesas (ver Muralhas de Évora) encontram-se classificadas como Monumento Nacional por Decreto publicado em 4 de Julho de 1922.

Em 1945 foi quase que integralmente refeito o pequeno cubelo a Sudoeste.

Em finais de 1993 iniciaram-se os trabalhos de abertura, na muralha entre os dois cubelos a Sudoeste, perto do Postigo dos Penedos, de uma porta de mármore bujardado, marcando nitidamente a contemporaneidade da obra, para ligação pedonal entre a zona Oeste extramuros e o Centro Histórico da cidade.

Évora, que alguns definiram como cidade-museu, é testemunho de diversos estilos artísticos, dotada que foi, ao longo do tempo, de obras de arte. Desse modo, desde 1986, o seu conjunto encontra-se classificado como Património Comum da Humanidade, pela UNESCO.

Características

A muralha da cidade, com características da baixa Idade Média, mantém-se nas suas linhas essenciais, com troços bem conservados e elementos arquitectónicos significativos. Destacam-se a chamada Porta de Avis (referida em 1353), a Porta de Mendo Estevens (Porta do Moinho de Vento), a Porta da Alagoa (defendida por uma torre), a Porta de Alconchel (a principal da cidade, protegida por dois grandes torreões). O troço de muralha entre as Portas da Alagoa e do Raimundo manteve-se íntegro durante as épocas posteriores, não sendo alterado nas campanhas de obras dos séculos XVII e XVIII. A Porta da Alagoa, entretanto, encontra-se atualmente muito descaracterizada por reedificações sucessivas. A chamada Porta do Raimundo, demolida em 1880, foi reconstituída como uma composição revivalista.

Castelo de Évora

The Páteo de São Miguel - St Michael’s Yard - is located at one of the most distinguished and strategic points in the city of Évora and, for this reason, has been occupied by a series of invaders over the ages.
It was first occupied for essentially defensive reasons, situated as it is at the highest point in the city, which not only made it difficult for enemy forces to attack, but also enabled a vast area of the surrounding plain to be watched over and contact to be maintained by signal with neighbouring fortifications. The area occupied by the Páteo de São Miguel was the hub of the defensive fortifications of the city, the reason why it was the Moorish Alcácer and an integral part of the Old Castle of Évora.
After the conquest of the city from the Moors in 1165, the fortification was given to the Military Order of St. Benedict of Calatrava by King Afonso Henriques. The headquarters of the order were later transferred to Avis, and it became the Order of Avis. During the period when the order was based in Évora, the knights, also known as the Friars of Évora, resided in the houses of the old castle and others in the vicinity, giving rise to the toponyms "Freiria de Cima" and "Freiria de Baixo" associated with the upper and lower friaries, and are preserved today in the names of two alleys.
From 1220, the Paço de São Miguel - St Michael’s Palace - was reinstated by the Crown as royal palace, and served as an inn for the monarch until the time of King Duarte and as headquarters of Commander Dom Nuno Álvares, in charge of frontier towns in the Alentejo during the War of Independence (1383-85).
A testimony of the military and political importance of this space in the Middle Ages is provided by Fernão Lopes, a leading 15th-century Portuguese chronicler. During the crisis of 1383-1385, the supporters in Évora of Dona Leonor Teles and Dom João II of Castile barricaded themselves inside the castle. In order to take it, the supporters of Dom João, Master of Avis, the future King João I, besieged the walled city. The besieged troops rained down arrows on them from the Roman Temple and the cathedral, however, to little effect. The city gates were only breached when those faithful to the cause of the Master of Avis took prisoner the relatives of those besieged in the city and threatened to execute them.
With the growth of the city of Évora, the construction of the new city walls during the reign of King Fernando I, which surround the Historic Centre, and developments in artillery, the old castle lost its prime defensive role and took on importance as a centre of military, political and administrative power and the place of residence for those who wielded it.
https://www.fea.pt/

St Michael’s Palace

The Royal Palace of Évora (Portuguese: Paço Real de Évora), also known as the Royal Palace of São Francisco (Paço Real de São Francisco) and the Palace of King Manuel I (Palácio de D. Manuel), is a former royal residence of the Kings of Portugal, in Évora, the capital of Alentejo.
The palace has its origins in a convent built in the 13th century. During the 14th century, the convent came under royal use when the royal family was in the Alentejo, but only became a proper palace under the reign of King John I, who used it as a personal retreat from the court. It became a royal palace during King Afonso V's reign, though it was the successive reigns of King John II and Manuel I that turned the originally ordinary palace into a grandiose renaissance palace, truly fit for a king. Over the centuries, the palace fell prey to war, decay, and urban redevelopment, which destroyed nearly all of the palace, with only a few segments of the palace still existing.
The Royal Palace of Évora was one of the centers of the Portuguese Renaissance, under King Manuel I, where playwrights, like Gil Vicente, and explorers, like Vasco da Gama, sought audiences with the king. During this time, the palace was constantly being added to and worked on, a never ending piece of art during the time of Évora's cultural and political golden age.
History
The Royal Palace of Évora has its origins in the Convent and College of São Francisco, built before the reign of King Afonso IV. The convent's first royal function was in 1336, when Prince Pedro of Portugal celebrated his marriage to Constanza Manuel, which put the convent on royal notice.
In 1387, King John I took the first step in transforming the convent to a palace, when he ordered that two chambers, and antechamber, an inn, servants houses, a well, and an orange grove all be built at the convent, and evicted resident Franciscans from certain wings of the convent turned palace. While he turned the convent into a good sized palace, it was a personal palace, not a royal one, only for the use of the King, his Queen, and their children.
In 1470, King Afonso V raised the Palace of São Francisco, as it was known at the time, to the level of a royal palace. He expanded the complex and installed his court there, previously located in Estaus Palace. The King spent large sums of time at the palace, but after his defeat in the War of the Castilian Succession, he lived the rest of his life in a monastery, near Sintra.
King Afonso V's son, King John II, would be the first king to use the palace as a full-time palace, and not as a retreat or seasonal palace, like his predecessors. From 1481 to 1482, King John II installed the Portuguese Cortes, his parliaments, in the Royal Palace of Évora. In 1482, in order to better accommodate the Cortes, King John II expanded the former rectory of the convent into offices for the High Offices of the Royal Court, which allowed for a more organized and structured Cortes, thus allowing King John II to live at the palace for a long period. In 1490, King John II opened the Portuguese Cortes once again at the palace and on 24 March 1490, the palace became the center of festivities and ceremony for the marriage of Afonso, Prince of Portugal to Isabella, Princess of Asturias. To facilitate the marriage celebrations, King John II expanded the palace, through the construction of a new wing and gardens. In 1493, King John II amplified his works on the palace, creating the Hall of Ambassadors, the Queen's Hall, the Royal Armory, and the Tribunal of the Palace of São Francisco, thus pushing the friars of the palace into smaller quarters. In 1495, Pope Alexander VI granted King John II, as per his request, the right to completely evict all clergymen still residing in the convent part of the palace, so long that he build them a church and new convent.
With King John II's death, in 1495, his cousin, Manuel I, Duke of Beja and Viseu, succeeded King John II as King Manuel I of Portugal. King Manuel I's personal monopoly on the spice trade allowed the King to be a great patron of the arts, constructing numerous palaces, convents, and churches throughout the country. King Manuel I took a great interest in Évora, establishing his court there on various occasions. From 1502 to 1520, King Manuel I ordered a vast series of renovations, constructions, and enlargements. During the Manueline Campaigns, as the works are collectively known as, the palace grew to one of the largest palaces in Iberia. The additions were inspired by Alhambra of Granada. Through architects Martim Lourenço, Álvaro Anes, and António de Lagoa the Manuline Campaign saw the construction of Couto Hall, the Wing of the Infantes, an infirmary, the Royal Gardens and Hunting Grounds, the Royal Library, and the Gallery of Dames, which is the only part of the palace to survive to present day. Alongside expansion of the palace, King Manuel I also renovated the existing parts of the palace, remodeling the Queen's Hall, the servants quarters, and the Rossio of the Palace. In 1519, King Manuel I ordered architect André Pires to turn the plain Hall of Ambassadors into a Manueline Throne Room, which would direct itself towards the Palace Rossio.
In 1616, during Iberian Union, Philip II of Spain visited Évora and at the request of the Franciscans, issued a royal diploma that integrated the building, vegetable garden, orchard and garden at the Convent, beginning the ruin of the Queen's Room with the construction of 2 bedrooms of friars and use of the masonry and other materials of the Palace; Century. Most of the complex was destroyed during the Portuguese Restoration War.
Since 1865, the Palace of Manuel was used as an Archaeological Museum, theater and exhibition space, until a collapse on February 18, 1881 destroyed its roofs. After the disaster, it was adapted to the public theater house - the Teatro Eborense - after the works; directed by the engineer Adriano de Sousa Monteiro, changed the original design, adding a second floor with metallic frame, according to the taste of the time. In March 1916 it was destroyed by fire, and remained so until 1943, when it was recovered by the National Monuments, which restored the property and saved the essential parts of the old pavilion.

The Palace of King Manuel I

A Torre das Águias localiza-se na povoação de Águias, freguesia de Brotas, concelho de Mora, distrito de Évora, em Portugal.

Vizinha ao rio Divor e ao santuário de Nossa Senhora das Brotas, integrava a chamada vila das Águias, da qual ainda subsistem algumas casas. É um dos exemplares mais significativos de torres manuelinas na região (Torre do Esporão, Solar da Camoeira), Castelo de Torre de Coelheiros e Quinta da Torre do Carvalhal), embora careça de urgente intervenção de consolidação e restauro por parte do poder público.

História

Erguida a partir de 1520 por D. Nuno Manuel, guarda-mor do rei D. Manuel I (1495-1521), possivelmente sobre uma estrutura anterior, esta torre, um solar senhorial, era utilizada para repouso dos fidalgos nas caçadas de grande montaria, frequentes na região à época.

Embora tenha resistido ao terramoto de 1755, começou a degradar-se a partir do século XIX.

Classificada como Monumento Nacional pelo Decreto n° 136 publicado em 23 de Junho de 1910, sofreu intervenção de reparos, a cargo da Direcção-Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais (DGEMN), em 1978.

Atualmente encontra-se em mãos de particulares e carecendo de conservação, em adiantado estado de degradação.

Características

Em estilo manuelino, apresenta planta no formato quadrado com cerca de 18 metros de lado por cerca de 20 metros de altura, em alvenaria, silharia e cantaria de granito, dividido internamente em quatro pavimentos, nos quais se rasgam janelas também quadradas. A cobertura seria em adarve ou terraço, coroada por merlões com balcões de matacães nos cunhais, arrematados por coruchéus cónicos.

Internamente, o pavimento térreo é constituído por um amplo salão, coberto por abóbada de ogivas nervuradas; o segundo pavimento divide-se em salão nobre, com vasto fogo de chão e cobertura em abóbada de ogivas nervuradas, e divisões contíguas; o terceiro e quarto pavimentos não apresentam divisões, com cobertura em abóbadas de cúpula abatida.

Torre das Águias

Dating back to 13th century the ruins of the Montemor-o-Novo Castle in Portugal remain a haunting ruin that can be explored by any traveller curious enough to pass through the still-standing gates. 

In its day, the castle in Montemor-o-Novo was an impressive citadel perched on a hill.  It was inhabited by nobles and monarchs, but also used its long walls and fortified gates to protect the city itself. As the area grew, the palace eventually fell out of use and by the 16th century it stopped expanding and began its slow decline.

Today large portions of the castle remain including the gates to the city and portions of the walls. Most clearly are the number of towers that remain on the hill. An old clock tower and even a tall citadel strangely known as the “Tower of the Bad Hour” still rise up in front of the sky.

Visitors are welcome to roam the castle grounds and walk along the remaining portions of the walls and crumbling keeps. However the ruins are hundreds of years old and can be treacherous, so caution is advised.          


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Castelo de Montemor-o-Novo

The Castle of Evoramonte, alternately spelled Évora Monte or Évoramonte, (Portuguese: Castelo de Évora Monte/Castelo de Evoramonte) is a Portuguese castle in the civil parish of Evoramonte, municipality of Estremoz in the former district of Évora. Initiated in 1160, in the Gothic period, it was enlarged in later centuries in the Manueline style. It was at this site that the Concession of Evoramonte (or the Convention of Evoramonte) on was signed on 26 May 1834, that ended Liberal Wars between the Liberal forces of Queen Maria II of Portugal (under the regency of her father Peter VI of Portugal) and Absolutist armies of Miguel of Portugal. Since 1910, it has been listed as a Portuguese National monument.

History

Sometime during the 12th century, the region of Évora Monte was conquered from the Moors by the forces of Geraldo Sem Pavor. By 1248, a foral (charter) was issued to the region to provide incentives for settlement, which was reaffirmed in 1271.

Around 1306, King Denis ordered the fortification of the town: it was at this time that construction of the castle began, that included the main structure, walls and gates.

After the rise of John I of Portugal to the Portuguese throne, the castle and associated lands were given to the constable Nuno Álvares Pereira, who later passed them on to his grandson.

A new foral was issued in 1516, by King Manuel. The reconstruction campaign during Manuel's reign, beginning in 1516, resulted in the fortification with four cylindrical towers defining the rectangular perimeter by Francisco de Arruda (completed in 1531).

The 1531 Lisbon earthquake destroyed the keep tower of the medieval castle. This structure was then rebuilt by Teodósio I, Duke of Braganza, who, at that time, was master of the region and town.

On 26 May 1834, the Concession of Evoramonte was signed between Miguel of Portugal and his brother Peter IV of Portugal, in the name of his daughter Maria da Glória, ending the Liberal Wars.

In 1855 the municipality of Evoramonte was extinguished, and its historical administration divided into the neighbouring municipalities of Estremoz, Évora, Arraiolos and Redondo.

Between 1930 and 1940, were the first public works to recuperate and renovate the grounds and castle of Evoramonte, under the supervision of the Direcção Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais (DGMEN). These actions, which primarily occurred in 1937, included the restoration of the towers and the consolidation of the parapets.

Subsequent interventions occurred between 1971-1979, in projects to restore the castle; 1980-1981, in the recuperation of the walls; in 1982, the construction of a sanitation system; followed in 1984 by new restoration projects, culminating in the phase two project in 1986 (which included construction and restoration accompanied with photography of the repairs). Finally in 1987, electricity was installed on the grounds.

On 1 June 1992, under Decree 106F/92, this building was transferred into the stewardship of the Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico (IPPAR), in order to rehabilitate and monetize the structure.

February 2006, marked the beginning of commemorations to celebrate the castle's 700 years of existence.

Architecture

The castle crowns the escarpment of Serra d' Ossa, with a commanding view of the local and distant routes, dominating one of the largest squares in Portugal: the municipality of Estremoz.

An unusual rectangular building, the castle includes circular towers molded into the structure, providing the castle with an aggressive and powerful characteristics. The building is much larger at the base, and is chamfered to the height of its three storeys, and crowned by large merlons. The three floors are clearly delineated by a ring-shaped cornice at each level, typical of the Manueline style, these cornices are sculpted into a rope, tied at the frontispiece of the structure. At various places along the cylindrical towers are canon emplacements, narrower to the interior, that provide an image that is bellicose and somber. On each storey there is a rectangular window, except on the ground floor exposed to the north, where a portico is fixed.

In the large salon on the first floor, the vaulted ovular ceiling is supported by four columns, and raised into a mess of sculpted veins. A similar lattice, though smaller, is used in the remaining floors. By the cylindrical towers in the west, a circular staircase provides access to successive floors.