Belem Tower #2

by Lucinda Walter

Title

Belem Tower #2

Artist

Lucinda Walter

Medium

Photograph - Photography, Digital Art, Fine Art

Description

View of the Belém Tower (Portuguese: Torre de Belém, pronounced: [ˈtoʁ(ɨ) dɨ bɨˈlɐ̃ȷ̃]) or the Tower of St Vincent[1] is a fortified tower located in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (along with the nearby Jerónimos Monastery)[2] because of the significant role it played in the Portuguese maritime discoveries of the era of the Age of Discoveries.[3] The tower was commissioned by King John II to be part of a defense system at the mouth of the Tagus river and a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon.[3]

The tower was built in the early 16th century and is a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style,[4] but it also incorporates hints of other architectural styles.[5] The structure was built from lioz limestone and is composed of a bastion and the 30 m (100 foot),[1] four storey tower. It has incorrectly been stated that the tower was built in the middle of the Tagus and now sits near the shore because the river was redirected after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In fact, the tower was built on a small island in the Tagus River near the Lisbon shore.[5][6]
In the late 15th century, King John II had designed a defense system for the mouth of the Tagus that depended on the Fortresses of Cascais and São Sebastião (or Torre Velho) in Caparica on the south side of the river.[5][7] These fortresses did not completely cover the mouth of the river and further protection was required.[7] In the first half of the 16th century, in the "Chronicle of John II", the author Garcia de Resende, affirmed the monarch's opinion that the defenses of Lisbon were insufficient, and that he had insisted on providing efficient fortifications along the entrance to the Tagus river to supplement the existing defenses.[8] To this end, he ordered the "making of a strong fort", of which Garcia de Resende came to sketch. But the monarch died, before any plans were initiated.[9] It was King Manuel I of Portugal, twenty years later, who revisited the idea, ordering the construction of a military fortification on the southern margin of the Tagus, around the beach in Belém.[7] In 1513, a letter authored by Lourenço Fernandes to his friends, referred to the King's intention to construct a tower in the area of Restelo Velho, having determined it to be necessary.

The beginning of this project developed on a rocky outcropping that was situated some distance from the river, using some of the stones being collected to build the Monastery of Santa Maria de Belém. By 1516, Francisco de Arruda (who was the "Master of the Bastion of Restelo"),[8] was already receiving 763 blocks and 504 stone for the construction, delivered by Diogo Rodrigues, the treasurer and receiver for the project. As construction progressed, the Grand Nau (Great Ship), a heavily armed, 1000 tonne (1100 ton) ship was used to supplement the defenses.[10][11]

In 1519, the build had concluded (just five years before Manuel's death), and Gaspar de Paiva was temporarily stationed to command the fortress.[12] This commission became permanent on 15 September 1521, when Gaspar de Paiva was appointed the first Captain-General, or alcalde, who named the fort to the invocation of the city's patron saint, naming the fortress the "Castle of São Vicente" (Castelo de São Vicente de Belém).[8][13]

Some years later (1571), Francisco de Holanda advised the monarch that it was necessary to improve the coastal defences in order to protect the Kingdom's capital. He suggested the construction of a "strong and impregnable" fort that could easily defend Lisbon and that the Belém Tower "should be strengthened, repaired and completed...that it has cost so much without being completed". D'Holanda designed an improved rectangular bastion, dotted with watchtowers.

In 1580, after a few hours of combat, the garrison stationed in the Tower surrendered to Spanish forces under the command of the Duke of Alba.[9] Immediately after this defeat, during the Philippine Dynasty (1580–1640), the dungeons of the Tower served as the state prison until 1830.[8][13] It was also during the last quarter of the 16th century, that the construction of the Phillipian Barracks began. A rectangular two-storey space, was constructed over the bastion, taking on the visual profile that it has retained through the 20th century, with sculpted crosses of the Order of Christ and rounded watchtowers.

In 1589, Philip I of Portugal ordered Italian engineer Friar João Vicenzio Casale to project a powerful fort to be constructed in place of the "useless castle of São Vicente".[8] The engineer presented three proposals, that presupposed that the bastion would be surrounded by another bastion in greater dimensions, a protected that never materialized.

A 1633 codex for the House of Cadaval was inserted into one of the floors, in one of the arches of the barracks, and in four largest arches at the top of the southern façade. Similarly, a reference to 1655 was inscribed on a plaque placed on the northern wall of the cloister, which certified its function as customs control point and for navigation along the Tagus; vessels were obligated pay as they entered in the harbour, which was imposed incrementally.

Between 1780 and 1782, under the reign of Maria I of Portugal, General Guilherme de Valleré constructed the Forte of Bom Sucesso, whose battery was connected by a western corridor wall to the Tower.[8]

The French invasion of Lisbon, during the Peninsular War, resulted in the quartering of troops in the Tower between 1808 and 1814. After the retreat of French forces, Lord Beresford advised that coastal artillery batteries should be reinforced along the Tagus, and specifically noted that stronger batteries should be placed on the sides of the Tower's bastion, while carts placed to better cover the soldiers, since the walls were very low.



French ships exchanging fire with the Tower at the Battle of the Tagus during the Liberal Wars (1831)
King Miguel I (1828–1834) used the dungeons to imprison his liberal opponents,[1] while on another level it used as a custom house for ships, until the tax on foreign ships was abolished in 1833.[8][13][14] The tower received military upgrades in 1589 and 1809–14.[9]

During the reign of Maria II, after protests by Almeida Garrett over the state of the site's degradation and the persuasion of the Duke of Tercira, renovations were initiated by military engineer António de Azevedo e Cunha.[8] He demolished the Phillipian barracks and extended revivalist elements in 1845–1846 (such as the armoured merlens, the balusters in the veranda along the southern façade, the laced fascia in the cloister and the niche with an image of the Virgin and Child.[9]

For several years (1865–1867) the building began to service new purposes: a beacon was installed on the extreme south-east terrace and a telegraph service was started, while nearby a gas factory was installed, which produced smoke and caused many protests.[8]

The first moves to preserve and rehabilitate the Tower began in the late part of the 20th century. First, the tower was transferred to the Ministry of Finance in 1940, which undertook small conservation works.[8] The military quarters on the battlements were removed and the inner cloister was built.[9] Later, starting in 1953 (and lasting three years), the architectural landscaper António Viana Barreto executed a plan to integrate the Tower with the local shore.[8] Various projects were undertaken in 1983, when the site hosted the 17th European Exhibition on Art, Science and Culture, including the covering the cloister with a transparent plastic cupola. In this year, it was also classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

In the 1990s (1 June), the property was transferred into the Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico (forerunner of IGESPAR), which began to complete a full restoration of the building. The tower and bastion received maintenance and restoration from February 1997 to January 1998, which included reinforcing the structure, treating the mortar joints and structural cleaning. Structural works included the reinforcement of the south balcony supports with stainless steel rods and epoxy resin. The same treatment also occurred in the statues of Saint Vincent of Saragossa and the Archangel Michael.[15] By 1999 the recuperation received an award (Europa Nostra) for the restoration of the exterior.[11] It was also included, on 7 July 2007, on the registry of the Seven Wonders of Portugal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bel%C3%A9m_Tower

All images are copyright © Lucinda Walter. The materials contained may not be reproduced, copied, edited, published, transmitted or downloaded in any way, shape or form. All rights are reserved. Copying, altering, displaying or redistribution of any of these images without written permission from the Artist is strictly prohibited.

Uploaded

June 20th, 2014

Statistics

Viewed 226 Times  -  Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/06/2024 at 12:46 AM

Colors

Embed

Share

Sales Sheet

Tags