Castle of Belmonte

Parish of Belmonte

Background

The early human occupation of the site is obscure, although it seems certain that, after the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, it would have coexisted with the Roman road that connected the town of Manuel I of Portugal (Braga) to Emerita Augusta (Mérida), today in Spanish territory.

The medieval castle

The first historical news about these domains dates back to the reign of Afonso I of Portugal (1112-1185), when the lordship of the lands of Centum Cellas was donated to the bishop of Coimbra (6 May 1168). Later, Sancho I of Portugal (1185-1211) granted a Charter to the Town (1199), which then formed part of the lordship.

Later, Afonso III of Portugal (1248-1279) ordered the Bishop of Coimbra, D.Egas Fafes, to proceed with the construction of a tower and castle. In this period, the Bishop of Guarda bought and sold houses in the castle grounds (1253) and, three years later Later, on April 27, Pope Alexander IV donated Belmonte Castle and the towns of Inguias and Olas de Godim to the See of Guarda, with all episcopal rights, with the See of Coimbra remaining to maintain secular possessions.

The tower and the castle were possibly completed during the reign of D. Dinis (1279-1325). These references are confirmed by archaeological remains from the end of the 12th century and beginning of the 13th century of the demolition of houses inside the village to build the castle and the keep.

After the establishment of the Treaty of Alcañices (1297), with the consequent expansion of the borders to the west, Belmonte Castle lost its strategic importance, while the population developed outside the walls.

In the context of the crisis of 1383-1385, the castle lost part of its walls. A little later, the Bishopric of Coimbra exchanged the town of Belmonte, together with the hunting ground of São Romão, for the town of Arganil with Antão Martim Vasques da Cunha (1392). During the reign of John I of Portugal (1385-1433), the mayor of Belmonte, between 1397 and 1398, having joined the party of Prince Denis of Portugal, the sovereign confiscated the town and the castle, donating them as mayor to Luís Álvares Cabral, with the Cabral family then residing in the castle. The new lord proceeded to rebuild the northern wall, where a new Porta da Traição was opened, adding a Turret for reinforcement.

In the 15th century, the town and its castle were donated by Afonso V of Portugal (1438-1481) to Fernão Cabral (1466), father of Pedro Álvares Cabral, who continued to adapt this military building to a stately residence.

From the Portuguese Restoration War to the present day

In the context of the War of Restoration of Portuguese independence, its defense would have been modernized by the construction of some bastions. At the end of the 17th century, the interior of the castle was damaged by fire (1694). In the following century, the building was erected next to the main gate, and the last lord of Belmonte, Caetano Francisco Cabral, died in 1762. Pinho Leal, commenting that it was in ruins, transcribes a description of the castle in the 18th century:

"The Castle consists of a tall tower, with two large windows, one facing noon, the other facing west; it is square and from it continue the houses of the lord of the same castle, all fortified with a stone wall, and on the outside, throughout the circuit, with bastions that are still preserved at a considerable height." (Fr. Luís Cardoso. Geographical Dictionary. apud: Pinho Leal. Ancient and Modern Portugal (12 v). Lisbon: 1872 et seq.)

The building next to the main door served as a prison at the beginning of the 20th century. The property was declared a National Monument by Decree published on October 15, 1927. Between the decade from 1940 and 1960, several conservation and restoration interventions were carried out by of the Directorate-General for National Buildings and Monuments (DGEMN).

More recently, in 1992, it was transferred to IPPAR, having been built inside it, a amphitheater, intended to the presentation of shows. Between 1992 and 1994 archaeological survey work was carried out inside the castle, proving the Roman presence, and between 1994 and 1995, inside the keep.

Revitalized, the monument is now open to the public. As a curiosity, an old key to Belmonte Castle is in the collection of the João Soares House-Museum of the Mário Soares Foundation, in Cortes (Leiria).

Architecture

At an elevation of 615 meters above sea level, the castle has an irregular oval layout, built on granite stone. The main façade of the castle, facing south, is opened by a portal with a round arch, topped by an armillary sphere and the Cabral coat of arms.

Closing the southwest corner, attached to the wall on the outside, stands the Romanesque-style Keep, on three floors, topped by square Battlements with a pyramidal ending. On the southeast side of the walls there is a residential space - a 16th century adaptation, with Mannerist style, of a small medieval tower. On the outer façade of the Palace, there is a Manueline-style window with a trilobed lintel. To the west, the ruins of the old Palace - ordered to be expanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral's father - attached to the Keep. Other balcony windows supported by brackets also cut through it. In addition to emblazoned stones, the masonry panels are pierced by loophole openings with embrasures.