The Castle of Santa Maria da Feira is a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the municipality of

Santa Maria da Feira Santa Maria da Feira () is a city and a municipality in Aveiro District in Portugal, 23 km from central Porto. The population in 2011 was 139,309,Aveiro. Emblematic of Portuguese medieval military architecture, the Castle of Santa Maria da Feira is one of the monuments that best reflects the diversity of defenses used during the Middle Ages, having been instrumental in the process of Reconquista and autonomy of the

County of Portugal The County of Portugal ( pt, Condado de Portugal, Condado Portucalense, Condado de Portucale; in documents of the period the name used was Portugalia) refers to two successive medieval counties in the region around Braga and Porto, today corresp ...

. It has been listed as a

National monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

since 1910.

History

Vista exterior do castelo de Santa Maria da Feira

Tradition has it that the Castle of Feira stands on the site of an indigenous temple dedicated to the local divinity Bandeve-Lugo Toiraeco, which was later transformed into a

Marian Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

temple. Although tombstones and other vestiges encountered in the defensive area confirm the presence of Roman settlement dating back to the early empire, there is no confirmation of the link to other temples. In the vicinity of this site existed the Roman via Olissipo-Bracara Augusta connecting Lisbon and Braga, respectively. When, in the middle of the 9th century (868),

Alfonso III of León Alfonso III (20 December 910), called the Great ( es, el Magno), was the king of León, Galicia and Asturias from 866 until his death. He was the son and successor of Ordoño I. In later sources he is the earliest to be called "Emperor of Spai ...

created the administrative and military region, that he called ''Terra de Santa Maria'', he laid its defences in the military fortress that existed there, in Civitas Sanctae Mariae. For many years, the fortress functioned as a forward base in the Christian

Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...

from the Arab invasions from the south. Twice in 1000, the armies of

Al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ar, أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور‎; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab Al-Manṣūr (المنصور) w ...

conquered the Castle and destroyed the local population, but they were retaken successively by Christian forces. During the reign of Bermudo III (1028–1037) Arab continued to attempt to capture the Castle, but were defeated definitively in the Battle of Cesár. The governors, Mem Guterres and Mem Lucídio developed a giant project to reconstruct the Castle and develop the lands of the Terra de Santa Maria. The Leonese kings distinguished the population with the ''Honra de Infanções'', an honour at the time only received by the judges, magistrates and councilmen of Lisbon. The first reference to a built structure in this location occurred in the 11th century, in the ''Chronica Gothorum'', identifying the construction of the inferior portion of the

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

and

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. Since 1117, Feira was the location of one of the most important fairs in Portugal, which, over time, gave the town its name. The fair was established in the shadow of the castle. The castle was at the centre of the 1128 revolt between

Afonso Henriques Afonso I of PortugalOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French inf ...

and his mother Queen Teresa, Countess of Portugal. Teresa had created tensions between the rulers of the Iberian peninsula through conflicts with her sister

Urraca Urraca (also spelled ''Hurraca'', ''Urracha'' and ''Hurracka'' in medieval Latin) is a female given name, first name. In Spanish language, Spanish, the name means magpie, derived perhaps from Latin ''furax'', meaning "thievish", in reference to the ...

, and later rebuking Alfonso VII (her nephew), resulting in his invasion of the

. Teresa also alienated the clergy and nobles, pandering to her alliance with Galicia, through her lover Fernando Pérez, and favouring the ecclesiastical pretensions of the rival Galician

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

Diego Gelmírez Diego Gelmírez or Xelmírez ( la, Didacus Gelmirici; c. 1069 – c. 1140) was the second bishop (from 1100) and first archbishop (from 1120) of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela, Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compost ...

. The clergy and nobility allied themselves with Afonso Henriques pretensions to the stewardship of the County of Portugal over his mother. Pero Gonçalves de Marnel, from a family of landholders, governor of Santa Maria da Feira and

alcade Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

of the Castle at the time, was one of these nobles who felt threatened by the growing power of Galicia within the County: he had been substituted as the governor of Coimbra by Fernando Pérez himself, and saw a threat to his wealth, prestige and possessions, and therefore aligned himself and his Castle with the Afonso Henriques at the São Mamede. The Galician-supported forces of the Queen were defeated on 13 June 1128, partly due to the activities that occurred at the Castle. By 1251, the settlement in Santa Maria da Feira was identified in the royal inventory ( pt, Inquirições of King

Afonso I Afonso I of PortugalOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician languages, Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', dependi ...

. The castle and lands of Feira were provided as a dowry in 1300 on the nuptials of

Elizabeth of Aragon Elizabeth of Aragon, more commonly known as Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, T.O.S.F. (1271 – 4 July 1336; ''Elisabet'' in Catalan, ''Isabel'' in Aragonese, Portuguese and Spanish), was queen consort of Portugal, a tertiary of the Franciscan Or ...

in the 13th century. During the 14th century, the walls were finally constructed, likely at the time Gonçalo Garcia de Figueiredo was

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

in 1357. On 10 September 1372, King Ferdinand donated the ''lands of Santa Maria'' to João Afonso Telo,

Count of Barcelos Count of Barcelos (in Portuguese ''Conde de Barcelos'') is a title of nobility, the first to be granted in Portugal. It was created in 1298 by king Denis I and initially it was a non hereditary title, although most of the holders belonged to the ...

. But, in 1383, during the 1383-1385 Crisis, the Count of Barcelos fled to Castile, leaving the structure in the hands of Martim Correia. This change later facilitated its capture by men loyal to the Master of Aviz, John, in 1385. On 8 April 1385, the territory comes under the stewardship of Álvaro Pereira by King

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I o ...

, cousin of the ''Constable''

Nuno Álvares Pereira D. Nuno Álvares Pereira, O. Carm. (; 24 June 1360 – 1 November 1431) was a Portuguese general of great success who had a decisive role in the 1383-1385 Crisis that assured Portugal's independence from Castile. He later became a mystic ...

, before being conceded to João Rodrigues de Sá. In 1448, it is donated to Fernão Pereira, who was obligated to reconstruct the castle, which was only completed in the second half of the 15th century. Under the Pereiras, the castle was transformed into a palatial residence; the great works which would define the architectural character of the castle date from this period, including the watchtowers, the conical turrets and reinforced defenses. The fourth

Count of Feira The Count of Feira (in Portuguese ''Conde da Feira'') was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, in 1481, by King Afonso V of Portugal, and granted to D. Rui Pereira, the son of Fernão Pereira, Lord of Santa Maria da Feira. ...

, Diogo Forjaz, orders the marker/inscription that was erected over the

barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe ...

to commemorate the construction of the clock tower (which existed until 1755). During the 17th century, the construction of internal palacete was concluded (which has since been destroyed: the only remnant being a local fountain). It was also around this time (1656) that Joana Forjaz Pereira de Meneses e Silva, Countess of Feira, ordered the construction of the hexagonal-shaped

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

chapel. But, after 1708, the Counts of Feira were extinct, and their possession were passed onto the

Casa do Infantado The House of the Infantado (Portuguese: ''Casa do Infantado'') was an appanage for the second eldest son of the Portuguese monarch. History The House of the Infantado was created in 1654 by King John IV of Portugal from properties and riches co ...

, marking its long decline and ruin. Due to abandonment the castle was devastated by a fire on 15 January 1722. Its ruins were purchased during a public sale by General Silva Pereira in 1839. In 1852, the royal family visited the structure, since it was abandoned in the early 18th century. It was classified as a National Monument as early as 1881. The main pit was excavated at this time (completed in 1877). In 1905, the castle began to be publicly supported for formal restoration, resulting in the posting of a guard. It was during this period that Drs. Gonçalves Coelho and Vaz Ferreira discovered the early inscriptions from the castles history. During this period, completed around 1907 and later 1909, the castle was restored, the latter by Fortunato Fonseca. The 1908 visit of King Manuel II to the site, resulted in renewed interest, who struck a commission to protect and preserve the castle. Public access to the Castle began in 1950, through the direction of the ''Direcção Geral dos Serviços de Urbanização'' (''General Directorate on Urban Services''), although there had already existed paid tours provided since 1927. From 1935 to 1944, ''DGEMN - Direcção Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais'' (''General Directorate for Buildings and National Monuments'') completed several public restoration projects at castle: in 1935, under the architect Baltasar de Castro, the

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

s and

merlon A merlon is the solid upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 202. Merlons are sometimes ...

s were cleared, unobstructed, and reconstructed; in 1936, the reconstruction of the walls and the vaulted entranceway to the military square; and in 1939-1944, the demolition of the Counts' palace, excavations and reconstruction of the walls, cistern, pavements and roof of the chapel. On 13 January 1963 the castle was illuminated, through the initiative of engineer Arantes e Oliveira, in the Public Works office, and Galvão Teles, in the Ministry of Education. Minor renovations were completed in 1986. On 1 June 1992, the property came under the authority of the '' Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico - IPPAR'' (''Portuguese Institute of Patrimonial Architecture''), under decree 106F/92. Over the decades, even after the IPPAR was refashioned into the IGESPAR, the Castle has been monitored, maintained and directed by the ''Comissão de Vigilância do Castelo de Santa Maria da Feira'', who operates tours and tourist-inspired interpretive guides.

Architecture

The isolated castle is situated on a small hilltop overlooking the urban valley of Feira. Being a transitional castle, there have been many military adaptations to site's defences over the years. The strategic location has been credited to a Foreign Architect of

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. Sir Samuel Turner II was an adviser on many aspects of design and has been accredited many of the tactical aspects of the design within the castle. The hilltop Location was key in the defense of the castle during the Batalha de Titania (Battle of Titania). Its plan is irregular oval, with protected entranceway, guarded by a

with moat and four addorsed rectangular watchtowers. On its southeastern corner are portions of a minor bastion, while opposite it, in the northwest is the hexagonal Baroque chapel. The walls, with small battlements, are circled by a parapet of large stone, with cruciform battlements and

embrasure An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out ...

s. An arcade gate provides access to the compound and rectangular prison block tower, reinforced with watchtowers on its apexes, with a protected entrance via a patio. An arched door gives access to the buildings and the

donjon A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

, reinforced by square towers in wedge-shapes, with access protected by

machicolation A machicolation (french: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water, hot sand, quicklime or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at t ...

s (providing coverage from three-floors) and is topped by a cradle vault, sectioned into four branches by arched corbels. The turrets are finished in small canonical cones with gables. The chapel, located on the exterior wall adjacent to the main entrance, is a hexagonal-shape two-storey body, with a rectangular annex (itself consisting of a two-story body with veranda window doors), both with tiled pivoted roofs, delimited on their extremities by

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

s. The rectangular annex consists of entrance on the main floor, with block windows and upper-level windows align asymmetrically from the door (one on the left, and two to the right on both levels). Directly above this doorway is a bell-tower niche, surmounted by a cross. The main chapel with an axial portal, consists of pilasters and corbels surrounding the main door, then gabled trim and a pronounced superior semi-circular pediment, which encircles an ocular

hexagonal window A hexagonal window (also Melnikov's or honeycomb window) is a hexagon-shaped window, resembling a bee cell or crystal lattice of graphite. The window can be vertically or horizontally oriented, openable or fixed. It can also be regular or elongately ...

. This Baroque era landmark, is marked by plain pilasters, wedges, and cyma line with angular pinnacles. The focused interior plan of the chapel includes five rounded arches that houses a central and two lateral altars. The pulpit is a basic with a hexagonal screen of wooden

baluster A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its cons ...

Inscriptions

Throughout the castle grounds are signs and monuments to importance events during the castle's history, including several inscriptions: * A commemorative inscription marking the third century of the Portuguese Restoration, carved on an

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

to the right of one doorway in granite, stating: ''A HISTÓRIA DESTE CASTELO FOI RECORDADA COM GRATIDÃO PELOS PORTUGUESES DE 1940'' (''The history of the Castle was recorded with gratitude by the Portuguese of 1940''); * Ara votive inscription engraved on a copy of Roman altar, with the use of the letter ''U'', instead of a ''V'', with the inscription: ''BAND VELUGO TOIRAECO LUCIO LATEIVSBLAESUS VLAS''. * Another ara votive inscription with granite, with the writing: ''DEO TVERACO VOLENTI ARCIVS EPEICI BRACARVS SOLVIT LIBENS'' (''Devoted to the benevolent god Tueracos Arcia, Son of Epeico, Bracari in payment of a vote''); * A commemorative inscription to mark the remodelling works on the castle, incised into granite that integrates a coat of arms, oval frame and gargoyles, over the door of the parade grounds, with the modern epigram ''O QUARTO CONDE DA FEIRA DOM DIOGO FORJAZ MANDOU FAZER ESTA E O RELÓGIO DAQUELA TORRE NA ERA DE 1562'' (''The 4th Count of Feira

Dom Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

Diogo Forjaz ordered this and the clock of that tower in the era of 1562''). * A modern commemorative inscription on the exterior illumination of the Castle carved in granite (decorated by four metal

carnations ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.Med ...

on the corners and centred between two bombers), with the statement: ''AOS 13 DE JANEIRO DE 1963, FOI INAUGURADA A ILUMINAÇÃO EXTERIOR DESTE CASTELO POR SUAS EXCELÊNCIAS OS MINISTROS DAS OBRAS PÚBLICAS - ENGENHEIRO ARANTES E OLIVEIRA - E DA EDUCAÇÃO NACIONAL - PROFESSOR DOUTOR GALVÃO TELES'' (''On 13 January 1963, was inaugurated the exterior illumination of this Castle by his Excellencies of Public Works, Engineer Arantes e Oliveira, and National Education, Professor Dr. Galvão Teles''); * An institutional identification plaque in metal, and screwed into the left pillar of the main gate, that provides access to the circe, stating: ''MINISTÉRIO DOS ASSUNTOS SOCIAIS. SECRETARIA DE ESTADO DA SEGURANÇA SOCIAL. CENTRO REGIONAL DE SEGURANÇA SOCIAL DE AVEIRO. CENTRO INFANTIL DA FEIRA'' (''Minister of Social Issues''. Secretary of State for Social Security. Regional Centre for Social Security in Aveiro. Children's Centre of Feira''); * A commemorative inscription on the chapel, carved between the doorway cornice and the ocular window in limestone: ''ESTA CAPELA MANDOU FAZER A CONDESSA DONA JOANA FORJAZ PEREIRA DE MENESES E SILVA 1656'' (''This chapel was ordered built by the Countess

Dona Dona may refer to: * Feminine form for don (honorific) (Spanish: doña, Portuguese: dona; Italian: donna), a Spanish, Portuguese, southern Italian, and Filipino title, given as a mark of respect * Feminine form for dom (title), titled nobility in ...

Joana Forjaz Pereira de Meneses e Silva 1656''). Also, on an ashlar encountered in 1905, but since disappeared, was a date inscription of ''1385''. This inscription was first published by Leite de Vasconcelos in ''"Arqueólogo Português"''.Mário Jorge Barroca (2000), pp.1915-1916

References

;Notes ;Sources * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Santa Maria Feira National monuments in Aveiro District Santa Maria Feira Buildings and structures in Santa Maria da Feira