Castle of Viana do Alentejo

Parish de Viana do Alentejo

Background

It is believed that the original occupation of the site dates back to the time of the Roman invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, judging by the archaeological evidence found in the surrounding area, in particular at the site of Paredes and at the site of the chapel of Nossa Senhora d'Aires, where remains of buildings, a necropolis with funerary tombstones and Roman coins from the time of the first emperors have been identified. The invasions of Germanic peoples and, later, of Muslims maintained the agricultural exploitation of the region, which persisted when it was reached by the struggles of the Christian Reconquista, when it came into the possession of Portugal at the time of the conquest of the neighboring Évora and Beja.

The medieval castle

Its domains, originally part of an estate called "Foxem", owned by the Municipal Council of Évora, were donated by it, in the first years of the second half of the 13th century, to Egídio Martins, steward of the Curia during the time of Afonso III of Portugal (1248-1279), remaining in the possession of his descendants.

After the death of D. Martim Gil, lord of these domains, King Dinis of Portugal (1279-1325) took possession of them, issuing a Charter of Foral to the town (1313), a document in which it is named Viana-de-a-par-de-Alvito, regulating their relations and donating one hundred pounds for its fortification works. Thus, construction work began on the castle and the town fence. The following year (1314), the town and its domains were donated by the sovereign to his son, the future Afonso IV of Portugal, with the clause that he would not transfer it to anyone except his wife, the Castilian infanta D. Beatriz, which he effectively did in 1357, a few days before his death.

Under the reign of John II of Portugal (1481-1495), these defenses were remodeled, since the sovereign, having gathered the Cortes in Évora on November 12, 1481, then transferred them to Viana, where they ended on April 7, 1482. At the time, the sovereign used the Castle of Viana as a temporary residence. A similar event occurred in 1489, when Viana de Alvito was chosen as the venue for the great festivities held on the occasion of the wedding of his son, Prince Afonso, with the Infanta Isabel of Castile, in January and February 1491, for which renovations were also carried out on the main church.

These works continued under the reign of his successor, Manuel I of Portugal (1495-1521), with works under the direction of the architects Martim Lourenço, Diego and Francisco de Arruda. In the castle, the construction of a new set of walls, duly crenellated, stands out.

In the following centuries, however, the castle's landmarks gradually disappeared, notably the surrounding moats and the bridges that provided access to the castle.

From the 20th century to the present day

The castle was classified as a National Monument by Decree published on 23 June 1910. However, public intervention only took place in the 1940s, with works being carried out by the General Directorate of National Buildings and Monuments, with consolidation and restoration work being carried out on the walls and Battlements.

Features

The castle, in Gothic style, features, in addition to 13th-century volumes, Manueline and Mudéjar art style decorations, the result of different construction periods. In general terms, it maintains an irregular pentagonal plan, consisting of the articulation of five curtain walls, supported by cylindrical cubes at the vertices, delimiting the yard. The top of these is covered by a battlement and the cubes are topped by masonry spires. The largest of these cubes was converted into a Keep. The facades to the south, east, west-northeast and northwest are finished with Merlons and Battlements. In the curtains to the south and northwest, the Porta da Matriz and the Porta da Misericórdia are torn, respectively, the latter opening directly onto the Narthex of the temple.

Within the walls, the castle is complemented by the buildings of the churches of Misericórdia and Matriz, the old Town Hall and the Chapel of Santo António, enhanced by the harmony of the surrounding gardens.