Fort of Santa Catarina (Portimão) 2.78

4 star(s) from 1 votes
Portimão,
Portugal

About Fort of Santa Catarina (Portimão)

Fort of Santa Catarina (Portimão) Fort of Santa Catarina (Portimão) is a well known place listed as Landmark in Portimão , Military Base in Portimão , Residence in Portimão ,

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The Fort of Santa Catarina is a medieval fort situated in the civil parish of Portimão, in the municipality of Portimão in Portuguese Algarve. The structure was considered one of the last Philippine military projects in the Algarve, erected to defend the peninsula from pirates and privateers, as well as military invasions. Its construction is one of the better examples that work of Alexandre Massai, a military engineer who toured the Algarve to reinforce numerous military fortifications along the coast.HistoryThe origins of the Fort of Santa Catarina are still debated. Some authors point to a 15th-century origin, during the reign of King John III or Sebastian, although few proofs have been identified, except for a small chapel dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria. In 1621, during the Iberian Union, Alexandre Massai, leading a committee of hundreds of specialists traveled the mouth of the Arade River, in order to find the best site for the construction of a fortress to defend the lands along the southern extent of the River. At the time many of the older medieval castles of Ferragudo and Portimão were already unable to support the defense of the coast to these limits, from pirates, corsairs and maritime invasions. The obvious choice at the time was along the edge of Praia da Rocha (referred to as Ponta de Santa Catarina) where a hermitage had once existed (and had been integrated in to a new fort) along the southern extent of Portimão's territory.