The Tower of Vilar, more than a military construction, is a symbol of the power the elite held over the territory and is therefore an important example of the domus fortis [fortified stately home] in the area of Tâmega and Sousa. It was probably built between the second half of the 13th century and the early 14th century, although the earliest mention of the Tower dates back to the 15th century. According to the Inquirições [administrative enquiries] of 1258, the “Sancte Marie de Vilar” was an “Honra” [territory] belonging to the family of D. Gil Martins of the Ribavizela family. With a rectangular floor plan, the Tower of Vilar stands on a granite outcrop that crowns a small hill. It was built in excellent granite and demonstrates several initials of masons. The façades present several interstices and there are still several corbels [salient stones] supporting the floors.  The top floor would have been the chemin de ronde [surveillance point], with battlements and merlons crowning the Tower’s parapet. Work carried out as part of the Route of the Romanesque project has helped rebuild the ruins of the Tower of Vilar.



https://www.guiadacidade.pt

Torre de Vilar, Lousada

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It is a Portuguese palace dating from the 15th century, located in the parish of Tabuadelo a short distance from the city of Guimarães. It stands between elegant and rich gardens, making a sober combination between historic and unquestionably important architecture and the beauty of nature.
Like many old and manor houses in the Region Between Douro and Minho, Paço de S. Cipriano must have its most remote origins in Roman villas.
On 22 July 1415, as evidenced by a transcript of the oldest known document, the Sottomayor family took possession of the house.
In its origin, the House would certainly be small, like those of its time, having grown over time, due to the works that the same family undertook for centuries, maintaining a primitive part that still exists today. What did not happen in many other houses, especially in the 18th century, in which the initial construction was replaced by another of a classical style.
From those backward times, the valuable architectural ensemble still exists today, part of the wing of the palace where the «Cozinha Velha» is inserted.
During the 18th century, Domingos Gonçalves Cibrão, who lived between 1704 and 1798, was the master of this house, who, as a great administrator, considerably increased the properties and undertook important restoration and flooding works in the São Cipriano palace, completely rebuilding the valuable Chapel of Santo António, a renowned historical and cultural landmark in Portuguese architecture.
https://www.loquis.com/

São Cipriano Palace

This Romanesque Castle, formerly located in Terra de Basto, fits in the castling movement that marked Europe between the 10th and 12th centuries and is located on top of a hill which highlights the castle with a beautiful view of the countryside from above.

History

The first edification of the caste was in the second have of the 10th century and first documented in 1064 as a fortification. During the upcoming centuries, from time to time the castle was occupied. In the middle of the 18th century, the fortification already showed some traces of ruin.

In 1946 the castle was classified as a national monument and experienced from 1960-1963 a period of restoration works inside.

Archaeological surveys were carried out inside the fortification in 2002, and an Interpretive Centre was installed in 2004.

After the integration to the Rota do Românico / Route of the Romanesque in 2010, the Castle was part of the Intervention for the conservation and protection of the inside and outside of the Castle, under the scope of the Route of the Romanesque in 2012.

Architecture and furniture

Highlighting its structure, positioned on top of a hill, are four resistive elements: the watchtower (whose rooftop and set of battlements were reconstructed in the 20th century), the quadrangular tower, a single door and the tank.

Archaeological remains relating to the occupation of the fort between the 14th and 16th centuries were identified.

The time of decay of the structure that, in peacetime, was a mere symbol of administrative power and lordly power that patronized the territory.

The abandonment occurred from 1717, when elites left the small village of Basto, moving the seat of the county to the parish of Britelo, where today, Celorico de Basto is located.

The memory of the small village of Basto persists along the branch route that originated it, and that linked the old road of Lixa to the significant route of Amarante-Arco de Baúlhe, identified as the present-day village of Castelo.

The pillory, the house of hearings and the chemists, are reminiscent of the busy street along which the village developed.

https://www.transromanica.com

Castelo de Arnoia

A Torre dos Alcoforados, também conhecida por Torre Alta ou Torre dos Mouros, situa-se no lugar da Torre, na freguesia de Lordelo, integra a Rota do Românico e está classificada como Imóvel de Interesse Público.

Datada da primeira metade do século XIV, a Torre está implantada numa zona de vale agrícola, de terrenos férteis, alimentados por linhas de água. Assenta num afloramento granítico convertendo-se num acentuado declive para os campos, denunciando estratégia de implantação, que garantia por um lado, condições mínimas de defesa, alicerçadas nas características construtivas da própria torre – domus fortis – e por outro lado, domínio visual sobre as terras e imposição na paisagem.

Conservando a sua estrutura original, a Torre dos Alcoforados caracteriza-se por planta sub-quadrangular com rés-do-chão e dois pisos, ao nível térreo a porta, no primeiro piso abre-se um vão de varandim em arco quebrado e janelas/frestas geminadas distribuídas pelos dois pisos superiores com conversadeiras pelo interior. 


https://www.cm-paredes.pt

Torre dos Alcoforados

The Vila Flor Cultural Center is a cultural facility located on Avenida D. Afonso Henriques, in Guimarães. It is the main cultural facility in Guimarães. Completed in September 2005, it was born from the restoration of the Vila Flor Palace and surrounding spaces, a work by the Pitágoras Office.
History of Vila Flor Palace
The Vila Flor Palace, built by Tadeu Luís António Lopes de Carvalho de Fonseca and Camões in the 18th century. Later, it is owned by the Jordão family, who completed the work started by Tadeu Luís. It is a remarkable building in the course of Guimarães history. In 1853, he received the Queen D. Maria II who, by decree of the 23rd of June of that same year, elevated the then town of Guimarães to a city. In 1884, it was the venue for the 1st Industrial and Commercial Exhibition of Guimarães. Acquired by the municipality of Guimarães in 1976, it served as a place to house the University of Minho's Guimarães Hub, music academy, theater workshop and place for professional training classes.
The boxwood gardens of Palácio Vila Flor, with a privileged view over the city of Guimarães and its monuments, such as the Paço dos Duques de Bragança and the Castle of Guimarães, were the venue for important events, such as the commemorative festivities. acclamation of King José I, in 1750. After the purchase of the Palace by the Municipality of Guimarães, part of the gardens served as a municipal vegetable garden.
The Cultural Center
The Vila Flor Cultural Center is the result of the restoration of the Vila Flor Palace and its Gardens, and the construction of a new building for the concert hall. The restoration carried out by the Municipality of Guimarães was awarded through a public tender to the Pitágoras architects office. The new, large theater building is combined with the 19th-century Baroque-style Palace and its Gardens. Inaugurated on the 17th of September 2005 with the Madredeus concert, the Vila Flor Cultural Center has a large auditorium with capacity for around 800 seats and a small auditorium with 200 seats. The new building also houses a restaurant, Café Concerto and administrative services. The restored Palace, with an exhibition area of ​​around 1000 square meters, also houses the headquarters of the Municipal Assembly. In 2006, the restored Gardens of the Vila Flor Cultural Center received an Honorable Mention in the Outdoor Spaces for Public Use category of the National Prize for Landscape Architecture.
https://www.wikipe.wiki/

Vila Flor Cultural Center

The Palace of the Dukes of Braganza (Portuguese: Paço dos Duques de Bragança) is a medieval estate and former residence of the first Dukes of Braganza, located in the historical centre of Guimarães (Oliveira do Castelo), in the north-western part of Portugal.
It was initiated between 1420 and 1422 by Afonso, Count of Barcelos, the illegitimate son of John I of Portugal (and future Duke of Bragança), after his marriage to his second wife. His prodigeny would occupy the space until the Dukes of Braganza moved to Vila Viçosa, abandoning the palace. The 16th Century marked the beginning of period of ruin, which was aggravated during the 19th century, when the local population used the palace as a personal quarry. During the Estado Novo regime, a controversial restoration restored the Palace, while implying a grandeur that may not have existed. The Palace of the Dukes was classified as a National Monument (Portuguese: Monumento Nacional) in 1910, and has been an official residence for the Presidency.
History
The residence was ordered to be built in the first quarter of the 15th century (likely 1420 to 1422) by Afonso, Count of Barcelos, the illegitimate son of John, and future Duke of Braganza, following his return to Portugal after a series of diplomatic missions to the Courts of France, Venice, Aragon and Castile. The construction of this building marked the concretization of his second marriage, when he took residence in the town. The project was given, as some authors have suggested, to French architect Antom. Yet, by 1442, it was still under construction when the Regent Peter came to Guimarães and stayed at the Palace, at the time conferring on his half-brother the title of 1st Duke of Braganza. The commission continued into 1461, when Afonso died the property and titles passed on to his brother, Fernando, although the widow, Constança de Noronha, continued to live at the residence and received the land rents from the holdings in Guimarães.
In 1464, the title of Count of Guimarães is given to Fernando II, son of the Duke of Braganza, by King Afonso V (which was later renovated in 1475). Three years later, on 1 April 1478, the 2nd Duke of Branganza, died, followed two years later by the death of the widow of the 1st Duke of Braganza: the titles and vast land holdings passed on to Fernando II. During the 16th century there was a move towards monumental construction, increasing at the time the main floor over the principal gate. This was a period when the second Duke of Braganza, Fernando who pushed for a symmetrical design and layout. The functional organization of the spaces, dates from these renovations and included: the first floor, its servants' quarters and support rooms, and the second floor, that was devoted to the residence of the nobles, structured around the chapel and divided into individual spaces for the Duke and Duchess. But, Fernando's move to Vila Viçosa during the 16th century, meant that the residence was closed for long periods. Most records on the buildings construction include the fact that the Palace was incomplete at the time that it was abandoned: Father Torcato Peixoto de Azevedo indicated that the residence had never really been completed in his Memórias (1692); which was also complemented by Father António de Carvalho da Costa (1706), who mentioned the same in his work Corografia Portuguesa; and Father Manuel da Mialhada also referred to the incomplete Palace of the Dukes. Transcribed in 1900 by Albano Bellino, a 29 December 1761 document indicated the plan and elevation of the Palace, without referencing the central courtyard.
King John II at the time was very interested in curbing the seigneurial power of the nobility and concentrating his power. Fernando (supported by the King's cousin, the Infante Diogo, Duke of Viseu) protested and conspired with Isabella I of Castile, which resulted in his being accused of treason by King John II, when the Duke's correspondence was intercepted by the King's spies. By order of the King, the Duke's properties and possessions were confiscated, and his residence in Guimarães continued to be looked after as Crown property, even as Duke Fernando was judged and executed on 20 June 1483 in Évora. The house was cared for by carpenters João Domingos, and later his son-in-law Afonso Anes, who were appointed to head the renovations of the property by John II.
In 1496, the properties of the House of Braganza were restored to Fernando II's oldest son Jaime, three years after returning from exile in Spain. Yet, Jaime chose to remain in Vila Viçosa after the family restoration, and as a result, the residence in Guimarães were closed.
The Dukedom of Guimarães was given as dowry to Isabel, sister of the 5th Duke Teodósio I, in her marriage to her cousin the Infante Edward (on 21 August 1536), thus-by passing the palace onto a peripheral branch of hereditary successors to the House of Aviz.
A century later, the space began a slow decline, which began innocently enough. On 20 October 1611, the Poor Clares nuns requested rock and stone from around the palace in order to repair their monastery. A similar request was made in 1666 by the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin to King Afonso VI (10th Duke of Braganza), to utilize rock from the interior walls of the palace to construct the Convent of Piedade. On January 31, the municipal chamber intervened over the destruction occurring to the Palace, and on 4 February inspected and evaluated its condition in order to inform the King of the need to conserve its structure. The local government purposed funding the friars, and providing the stone from the barbican in the Castle of Guimarães, in exchange for stone in the Palace. As conditions continued to deteriorate the municipal chamber requested the roaming magistrate determine who stole stone from near the gate of Santa Cruz. On 26 November 1672, Pedro Vaz de Sampaio, master mason, was requested to replace the gate, since it was already ruined. There was a profound degradation in the following centuries, with more and more of its stone taken for construction in the city and its re-purposing as a barracks in 1807. At that time, the inhabitable part of the Palace was retiled by the almoxarife Jerónimo de Matos Feijó and served as the barracks for the 20th Regimental Infantry.
Several public works were completed on 8 January 1819. By 30 December 1880, its importance as a historical building was made clear by the Portuguese Royal Association of Civil Architects and Archeologists (Portuguese: Real Associação de Arquitectos Civis e Arqueólogos Portugueses), as a second-order historical monument.
Father António José Ferreira Caldas, writing in 1881, referred to the site as being in a state of ruins, serving as a barracks for various regiments and battalions. He made detailed description of what existed, including the grande courtyard, its main façade with one floor, lateral and posterior façades slightly taller, chapel door, the columns that supported the courtyard's gallery, its Flemish stained-glass windows in the chapel and diverse tiled chimneys. This was complimented in a similar report in 1886 by Vilhena Barbosa who also mentioned the columns in the northeastern lateral façade that supported the porch.
Republic
At the beginning of the 20th century, the medieval structure was irredeemably corrupted.
On 26 September 1933, the conservational director of the Alberto Sampaio Museum, Dr. Alfredo Guimarães, requested from António de Oliveira Salazar visit the ruined palace, which helped to motivate the reconstruction of the building. Architect Rogério de Azevedo was commissioned in 1936 to complete the restoration, forcing the abandonment of the space by the military. What would become a radical restoration was started in 1937, under the architect Rogério de Azevedo, which was both restorative and controversial.
In 1940, a statue of Afonso Henriques is transferred to the ramp/entranceway of the Palace, alongside Rua Conde D. Afonso Henriques, by the municipal authority.
The restoration was based on the analysis of other medieval palaces of the period, but influenced by the monumentalism of the period architects. As part of the ongoing restoration, the courtyard railing from the Monastery of São Miguel de Refojos is recycled for the palace in 1943. Also, as part of the project, in 1952 and again in 1955, the architects travelled to Brussels, Antwerp and to Loire region, to study the decorative solutions for the palace. Further, there was a confluence of other styles and motifs associated with the Estado Novo regime, including a politico-religious nationalism that saw Guimarães as the centre of the modern Portuguese nation. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Palace was later transformed into an official residence of the Presidente do Conselho and President of the Republic.
In 1957, the landscaping of the space is undertaken (which also included the Campo de São Mamede) by landscape architect António Viana Barreto. As the restoration of the building was coming to an end, in 1958, the chapel was renovated (by sculptor Manuel Ventura Teixeira and Pintor António Lino) and the furniture was collected and installed by the Comissão para Aquisição de Mobiliário (Commission for Furniture Acquisition) in 1959.
By 24 June 1959, the new Palace of the Dukes of Braganza was inaugurated and finally open to the public.
Today, part of the property has been reconverted into a Museum, whose collection and disposition are to educate the public on its history during the 16th and 17th century. In its vast collection, are the tapestries of Pastrana, which narrate some of the events in North African conquests, attributed to Nuno Gonçalves (author of the polyptych in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora; a collection of porcelains from the Portuguese East India Company; a group of Portuguese dinner sets from important factories (such as Prado, Viana, Rocha Soares and Rato); and a collection of Flemish tapestries by Peter Paul Rubens, among others.
Architecture
The Palace is located in the urban setting of the historic centre of Guimarães on the top of Monte Latito, encircled by a forested park and green-space, intersected by several pedestrian trails. In its proximity to the southeast, the Chapel of Santa Cruz, to the north the Church of São Miguel do Castelo and the Castle of Guimarães. In a space to the left of the main ramp/entranceway is a monument erected to Afonso Henriques.
Structured around a central rectangular courtyard, the lateral buildings housing the official residences, while a chapel is located opposite the entrance. Its simple/basic form is one of the best examples of Portuguese late-medieval construction used by the nobility, comparable to the 14th century French palaces/buildings of the time. It was also used as an example for the Palace of the Kings of Majorca, in Perpignan, of which it is a faithful model.
The plan developed around a rectangular building with four rectangular towers, around an interior courtyard dominated by the chapel on the southeast wing. The spaces are articulated and staggered horizontal floors, covered with different roof tiles, in addition to with six tall chimneys. Each façades is made of granite, masonry block and interspersed by rectangular windows of varying styles: cruciform, stained-glass, standard and oblique. A few of the first floor windows are covered in metal grating. The northwest façade has an arch doorway surmounted by corbels and is recessed from the two towers. The superior floor is a balcony that runs the length of the interior courtyard, supported by corbels, which unite the guard towers. The lateral (northeast and southwest) façades are of a lower height and covered by trim and corbels, that supports the covered balcony, interspersed by openings at floor level. The southwest wing is broken by the body of the chapel, which extends away from the façade (identifiable by two large Flemish stained-glass windows), and is highlighted by a cantilever roof within the courtyard.
The towers are all closed rectangular bodies, with watchtowers, interspersed by small windows.
The interior patio, accessible from the main doorway, is a balcony that overlooks the courtyard: supported by Gothic arches on the main floor and columns on the second. At the roof-line, on all interior façades are balconies supported by granite corbels, while the chapel-side façade is highlighted by two isolated balconies (covered by tiled awnings) supported by similar corbels. The same façade is highlighted by a cantilever roof, supported by a rounded wooden arch and two supports decorated with columns. In the interior of this awning is a portal (consisting of four inset arches) preceded by a staircase, which gives access to the chapel. The gallery is covered by masonry stone on the main floor, and tiles on the second, with interior covering in wood.
Interior
The austere interior spaces include simple granite walls with ceilings and floors in wood.
Spaces on the first floor are divided into several rooms, separated by narrow corridors that run perpendicular to the façades. In these spaces are the visitors reception area, storage, carpenters space, main hall and office of the director of the site. In the main wing is the unique staircase in the palace, consisting of four flights in granite.
The intermediary floor, corresponds to the museum space, consisting of the towers and halls with rock fireplaces, including the Salão de Banquetes (Banquet Hall) and the Salão dos Passos Perdidos ("Hall of Lost Steps"), with roofs designed like the interior wooden keel of a boat.
The last floor, was dedicated for the use of the President of the Republic, and is characterized by a succession of bedrooms with private bathrooms, between two suites located within the towers (for the President and Prime Minister. This floor is immediately accessible via the small elevator on the ground floor and staircase from the second floor cloister.
The last floor of the posterior wing is marked by a succession of rooms and the chapel. The chapel has a single nave, which is covered by a wooden ceiling presenting visible joists. A straight narrow wooden choir, allows access to balconies which extend to the front of the church and the exterior facade, as well as the corridors of the remaining wards. The richly carved wood benches in the nave precede the elevated presbytery, which is delimited by a wooden guardrail.

Palace of the Dukes of Braganza

The Castle of Guimarães (Portuguese: Castelo de Guimarães), is the principal medieval castle in the municipality Guimarães, in the northern region of Portugal. It was built under the orders of Mumadona Dias in the 10th century to defend the monastery from attacks by Moors and Norsemen.

The castle is a military fortification grounded primarily in the late Romanesque period, and elaborated during the early Gothic epoch of Portuguese architecture. Its area is delineated by walls forming a pentagram, similar to a shield, that includes eight rectangular towers, military square and central keep. Originating in the foundations of a Roman structure, from the writings of Alfredo Guimarães, it was later elaborated on the French model, in its current the form of a shield, with reduced central yard and difficult accesses. It includes several Gothic characteristics, owing to its remodelling at the end of the 13th century, when the keep and residences were constructed (possibly over pre-existing structures).

History

Early History

Emblematic of the medieval Portuguese castle, Guimarães is associated with the origins of the Portuguese nation. Yet, the phases and organization involved in its construction, from the 10th century onwards is very deficient, with many of its present structure resulting from its reconstruction in the second half of the 13th century. The examination of its walls and remains led Carlos A.F. de Almeida to proclaim, for example, that the flanking towers were constructed during the late Romanesque, early Gothic period.

In the second half of the 10th century, owing to the death of Count Hermenegildo Gonçalves, the property of Vimaranes (today Guimarães) was inherited by his daughter Oneca. Countess Mumadona Dias, the count's widow, traded her property in Creiximir for the land in Vimaranes, and ordered the construction of a monastery situated on land today occupied by the Collegiate and Church of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira (PT010308340007). Later, in order to defend the curate at the monastery, the countess ordered the construction of the castle. By 4 December 968, a codicilar document, the countess referred to the castle (then designated as the Castle of São Mamede) as just having been constructed, in order to defend the friars and nuns in the monastery.

At the end of the 10th century, Dias's eldest son, Gonçalo Mendes, takes possession of the lands following her death and maintaining her wishes to support the monastery. But, Gonçalo Muniuz, son of Múnio (fourth son of Mumadona Dias) attempted to seize the town and castle, but he was impeded by his uncle Gonçalo, then family patriarch. These family squabbles continued, when Ordonho Ramírez, great-grandson of Mumadona, took the castle and town, later bequeathing them to his daughter Mumadona, on her marriage to Fernando Gundemáriz, son of Gundemaro Pinióliz. The town and castle were eventually sold to Gontrode Ordonhes, the other daughter of Ordonho Ramírez and sister-in-law of Fernando Gundemáriz who was married to Mendo Folienz, who eventually donated the monastery in 1045 to the curate.

Medieval Era

At the end of the 11th century the castle was heavily expanded and remodeled, under the direction of Count Henry, to act as his residence. The vestiges of the work are found near the entrance, and includes consisting of five rows of large ashlars, defining an arched wall, that were part of bastion between granite outcrops, within a castle with walled courtyard. The fortress, then over a century old, needed renovation. The nobleman chose to destroy what remained from Mumadona's construction, while extending the area of the castle and adding two entrances. The castle became the official royal residence from 1139, when Portugal became independent from the Kingdom of León, until circa 1200. It was at this residence that Afonso Henriques was born in 1111, living his life in the castle, which became the residence of the Counts of Portucale.

Following years of family rivalries, in 1128, the Battle of São Mamede (fought within the fields of the same name) gave origin to the independence of Portucale and the formation of the nucleus of what would become Portugal.

Between the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century, the castle was remodelled by King Denis, resulting in the form that stands to this day. The alcalde Mem Martins de Vasconcelos, siding with the king, resisted the siege by the Infante D. Afonso. In 1369, King Henry II of Castile invaded Portugal and encircled the castle of Guimarães, but was defeated by its population and forces loyal to then-alcaide Gonçalo Pais de Meira. Yet, several years (1385) King John I encircled the castle, and it was the alcaide Aires Gomes da Silva, supporter of Beatriz, who defended its walls. Sometime between 1383 and 1433, the two towers that flank the main entrance were order built by King John I of Portugal.

In 1653, the town prosecutors of Guimarães within the Cortes petitioned "it was worth the village castle, the most sumptuous of the kingdom, which is becoming ruined, and if care is not taken, will become completely ruined, at the cost of the alcalde's rents. And the walls, also the best in the kingdom, if they are not repaired, will fall into ruin, equally the two towers without a little repair." Yet, by 1793, Alberto Vieira Braga referred to the "inutility" of the walls that circled the town, owing to their state of ruin. This changes marked the slow decline of the structure as a defense fortification.

By 1836, the councilmen of Guimarães were already looking to demolition the castle, and reuse the stone to repave the roadways. A member of the Sociedade Patriótica Vimaranense (Patriotic Society of Guimarães) defended the demolition of the castle, and suggested the use of its stones to pave the streets of Guimarães, as the fortress had been used as a political prison during the reign of King Miguel. However, this was never accepted. 45 years later, on 19 March 1881, the Diário do Governo (Official Journal) listed the Guimarães Castle as the most unusual historic monument of the whole region of Minho. After the castle's demolition was abandoned in the 19th century, many of the houses, estates and lodgings around the castle were expropriated.

The first attempts at restoration occurred during the mid-20th century, specifically in 1936. In 1910, the castle was declared a national monument. In 1937, the General Service for National Buildings and Monuments started its restorations. The structure was re-inaugurated on 4 June 1940, on the occasion of the centenary of the castle.

On 20 April 1952, a special protection zone was established that included the castle, Church of São Miguel and the Palace of the Dukes of Braganza. Further elaboration of a plan for the area was completed within the 1957 landscaping of the area around the chapel by Viana Barreto.

In the course of installing new electrical systems at the castle, a medieval well was discovered.

On 1 June 1992, the building became the property of the Instituto Português do Património Arquitetónico (IPPA), under decree 106F/92 (Diário da República, Série 1A, 126). Further excavations in 2004, in the castle interior allowed the dating of structures to 10th century.