Alvito Castle

Parish of Alvito

Background

Region occupied since Roman times, of which several archaeological remains are evidence, the first documentary references are found from the donation of these domains by Afonso III de Portugal (1248-1279) to his chancellor-major, Estevão Anes, around 1255. Alvito hosted the sovereign in 1265, obtaining, according to custom, the inherent privileges, confirmed by Royal Charter. Upon his death (1279), without heirs, Estevão Anes bequeathed the town, castle and lands of Alvito to the Order of the Trinity, which indicates the existence of a previous fortification structure on the site at the time.

D. Dinis (1279-1325) granted it a charter in 1280, confirmed in 1289. The town's progress is attested to by the institution, in 1296, of an annual fair.

The medieval castle

In 1475, Alfonso V of Portugal (1438-1481) granted the title of Baron of Alvito to João Fernandes da Silveira, a royal official whose descendants would be titled as marquesses. A few years later, in 1482, João II de Portugal (1481-1495) granted the baron and his wife the right to build a castle there, granting them the lordship of the town and neighboring villages.

This nobleman received new confirmations of the royal license for the construction of the castle, from the same sovereign in 1489, and from Manuel I de Portugal (1495-1521), in 1497. According to an epigraphic plaque on the entrance gate, the works of the current castle would have begun in 1494, under the responsibility of the 2nd Baron of Alvito, D. Diogo Lopes da Silveira. They would be completed in 1504.

From the 1755 earthquake to the present day

As a result of the earthquake of 1755, which caused damage, D. Maria Bárbara de Menezes promoted recovery and remodeling work (1777).

In the context of the Guerras Liberais, this castle was attacked and damaged in 1834, with new restoration work subsequently taking place, notably stucco and painting. At the end of the century, in 1887, a promise of purchase and sale of this castle was signed, with a clause of usufruct until death, between its owners D. José Lobo da Silveira Quaresma and his wife, D. Carolina Augusta Duarte (who died respectively in 1917 and 1936), and the future king D. Carlos (1889-1908). Before the death of the former owners, however, the complex had been sold to the sovereign (1897).

In the 20th century, the castle was classified as a National Monument by Decree of 16 June 1910. After the establishment of the Republic, the former sovereign D. Manuel II (1908-1910), integrated the castle into the heritage of the House of Bragança (1915), in which it is still included today.

From 1941 onwards, consolidation and restoration work was carried out, with the reconstruction of battlements and plasterwork, the repair of roofs and the demolition of masonry walls.

In the context of the Revolução dos Carvos, the castle's dependencies were occupied by the Alvito Residents' Commission, which at the time promoted adaptation works on the first and second floors.

Between 1980 and 1981, new interventions carried out the repair of sections of the wall, plastering, roofs, doors and frames, as well as the repair of the fence walls and the installation of upper doors.

Restored, the castle's facilities have been refurbished, and since 1993 it has been one of the establishments in the Pousadas de Portugal chain under the name Pousada do Castelo de Alvito.

Features

The castle presents itself as a mixed building of military architecture and palatial residence, where influences can be identified Islamic, gothic e Manueline.

Rectangular in plan, with four cylindrical turrets crenellated at the vertices, its sides define an internal courtyard where, to the northwest, the Keep stands, attached to the wall. The top of the walls is crossed by a adarve consisting of a raised parapet with battlements with arrow slits. The southeast and southwest facades, in masonry, are characterized as those of a palace; those in the northeast and northwest as walls joining the towers. Manueline and Islamic features are identified by some horseshoe arch windows,maineladas, inscribed in a conupial arch, with brickvoussoirs and the naturalistic decoration of the capitals.

The main door, with a chamfered arch, bears, at the top, an inscription informing that the castle was begun during the reign of D. João II and finished during that of D. Manuel I. It was originally served by a drawbridge over the moat, accessing the parade ground where, on the south side, there is a staircase leading to the so-called Sala dos Deados, the Chapel and the tower rooms.

The Keep, originally taller than the rest of the complex, has a square layout, on three floors: a ground floor and two upper floors, with barred windows.