May 8, 2011
Oporto - Bertrand Parque Nascente
"Duas vidas um destino" - Book Presentation of my friend Nuno Meireles
segunda-feira, 9 de maio de 2011
Castelo Mendo - Castle Church
April 26, 2011
Castelo Mendo - Castle Church
Description: Castelo Mendo is situated southwest from Almeida, next to A25 highway. This 721m high Historical Village rises over a granitic complex, surrounded by the deep Côa valley. The village has kept its former walls since the ruling period of D. Sancho I, who erected it in the beginning of the 13th century. You eill find several churches inside: some of them in ruins, but other well-kept. The representations of legendary alcalde Mendo and his wife Menda are quite peculiar. Their faces were placed in the façade of two neighbouring houses. Next to them, there is a small but interesting rural ethnographical museum (Museum of Time and Senses). The remains of a Romanic church and a tower can be found at the top of the village, offering a beautiful view over the houses and the surrounding landscape. Castelo Mendo had an important Medieval fair, probably the first official fair in Portugal.
References: www.lifecooler.com
quinta-feira, 5 de maio de 2011
Monsanto (Idanha-a-Nova) - Castle
April 28, 2011
Monsanto - Church View from Castle
Description: Monsanto stands in the Northeast side of Idanha Lands, nestled on a steep hill slope - Monsanto hillock (Mons Sanctus), which abruptly rises out of the prairie and reaches758 meters on its highest point. There are several hamlets scattered along the several slopes and at the bottom of the hill, which shows the population movements towards the plain. It's a very ancient place with evidence of human presence since the Paleolithic Era. They found archaeological evidence of a Lusitanian fortress and of Roman occupation in St. Laurence's field, at the foot of the hill, as well as of Visigoth and Arabian occupation. King Afonso Henriques conquered Monsanto from the Moors and, in 1165, granted it to the Templar monks who had the Castle built under the orders of Gualdim Pais. King Afonso Henriques first chartered the village in 1174 and then King Sancho I (1190) and King Afonso III (1217) confirmed the Charter. King Sancho I rebuilt and repopulated the fortress, which had been destroyed during the fights against the king of Leão. In 1308, King Dinis granted it a Charter, which allowed a fair to take place near the Chapel of São Pedro de Vir-a-Corça. King Manuel I granted it a New Charter in 1510, giving it the right to be a Town.
In the middle of the 17th century, Luis de Haro, Minister for Filipe IV, tried to siege Monsanto, but he had no success. Later on, in the beginnings of the 18th century, the Duke of Berwick also laid siege to Monsanto but the Portuguese Army, commanded by the Marquis of Minas, defeated the invader on the slopes of the hill. In 1758, Monsanto was a municipality, having kept this privilege untill 1853. In the 19th Century, the imposing Castle of Monsanto was partly destroyed by the accidental explosion of the munitions storeroom.
References: portugalvirtual.pt
Almeida - Castle of Almeida I
April 26, 2011
Almeida - Entry of Fortification
Description: It is one of the most magnificent fortresses in the country. According to its final version (1747), Almeida fortified square had the configuration of a 12-pointed star, that is to say, a double hexagon with six bastions and some ravelins. It is surrounded by a 12m wide throughout a 2,5 km long perimeter. 5000 men were garrisoned here and the fortress had over one hundred cannon loops of several calibres. It had bombproof facilities – known as “casamatas” (bunkers) – where both the soldiers and the population could find shelter during bombings, as well as underground gunpowder magazines and a duly protected blood hospital. Almeida underwent major sieges in 1762 during the Seven Years’ War, and in 1810 during the 3rd French Invasion. It was in this period that a shot from one of Massena’s soldiers hit one of the square’s gunpowder magazines, situated in the Medieval castle, leading to a violent explosion that destroyed part of the fortress and dictated the defenders’ surrender (on August 25th 1810).
Description: It is one of the most magnificent fortresses in the country. According to its final version (1747), Almeida fortified square had the configuration of a 12-pointed star, that is to say, a double hexagon with six bastions and some ravelins. It is surrounded by a 12m wide throughout a 2,5 km long perimeter. 5000 men were garrisoned here and the fortress had over one hundred cannon loops of several calibres. It had bombproof facilities – known as “casamatas” (bunkers) – where both the soldiers and the population could find shelter during bombings, as well as underground gunpowder magazines and a duly protected blood hospital. Almeida underwent major sieges in 1762 during the Seven Years’ War, and in 1810 during the 3rd French Invasion. It was in this period that a shot from one of Massena’s soldiers hit one of the square’s gunpowder magazines, situated in the Medieval castle, leading to a violent explosion that destroyed part of the fortress and dictated the defenders’ surrender (on August 25th 1810).
References: lifecooler.com - Portugal is cool
segunda-feira, 2 de maio de 2011
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