Castle Porth

Portuguese settlements in the north were conveniently constructed on hilltops, providing protection to local populations from raids. During the Roman Iberian invasion/occupation many of these settlements were converted into fortified villages, due to their strategic positions. The first defensive structures were believed to be constructed by these colonists, who worked in the older castros into their fortifications. Roman occupation of the territory was followed by successive waves of Suevi and the Visigoths who repurposed the structures. Muslim settlers, later known as Moors, occupied the settlements during the Taifa of Badajoz. The lands of Almeida were conquered from these Moors in 1039,…

The castle is situated in an isolated urban context, implanted on the western limits 7 km from the Castela-Leão plateau, 763 m over the valley of the River Côa. The modern fortification encompasses the older part of the village, covered in vegetation and only open along the military square, while the small bastion of Cruz is punctuated with trees. Alongside the Cruz gate, is the infantry barracks of Terreiro das Freiras and, immediately nearby, the Church and Hospital of the Misericórdia of Almeida. Near the bastion of São João de Deus is the Pousada de Nossa Senhora das Neves and on the embankment of the bastion, the old Trem de Artilharia or Picadeiro Real. On the extreme west of the…