Belém Tower

The Belém Tower is beautiful! Isn’t it? Yes, we think so too. But be aware that this is not her real name. Initially named Torre de São Vicente a par de Belém, it officially maintains the name Torre de São Vicente de Belém, in honor to the patron saint of the city of Lisbon, St. Vicente.

It was planned by D. João II (1481-1495), as part of a strategic city defence plan. At the end of the fifteenth century, the time of the “maritime discoveries” and the Iberian expansionism, Lisbon and Seville were the major commercial centers of Europe. They were the starting point for ocean navigations and the arrival point of the products that came from Overseas: gold, silver, the long-coveted spices and so on. For this reason, these two cities were very rich, dynamic and cosmopolitan. Yes, my friends, living in Lisbon as fashionable thing to do it is not a new thing. 😜 At the same time, in the rest of Europe, peace was somehow very recent. At the time, only very recently most of the European countries had stopped beating each other. In this scenario, D. João II thought it would be a good idea to protect the city against a possible attack.

The defensive system included tree points: the Tower of Santo António de Cascais (nowadays Forte de Nossa Senhora da Luz de Cascais), as the first watch point on the Tagus River entrance; the Tower of São Sebastião da Caparica, on the south bank of the Tagus River, ruins that still exist; and finally, the one that will become the Belém Tower, then surrounded by water, in the same place where São Cristóvão vessel was anchored for years, in a strategic position to defend Lisbon. The idea was to build the tower in this same place.

This poor king, man of many dreams, didn’t see all of them happening. He died before the construction of the Belém Tower get started. He also had the dream of discovering the maritime route to India, which only happened three years after he died (1498). He planted the seeds and watered them. It was his cousin and successor, D. Manuel I (1495-1521) who reaped the fruits, reason why his cognomen is “the Blessed/the lucky one”. Even the throne fell on his lap.

Back to Belém Tower, as we know, it was in fact constructed, but at the request of D. Manuel I. Back then, the Jerónimos Monastery, the Manueline Crown Jewel, was also being built. Therefore, it became even more important to defend the maritime entry of the city. The works started in 1514, in the refered place, in a stone bench, about 200 meters from the bank, in front of the Restelo beach. It was completed in 1520 and the first captain and mayor was Gaspar de Paiva. It was a position of great prestige and total confidence of the king because it had the responsibility to charge the fees on the products that arrived from the overseas trade. Eventually this role will be taken by Governor figure.

As it is such an old monument and since the documentation is scarce, along the twentieth century historians had big arguments trying to figure out who was the true master of the tower. Nowadays it is consensual that it was the architect Francisco Arruda, also responsible for other military and religious constructions throughout this country.

Still on the outside of the tower, there are two sculptures of saints carved in the corners of the north facade: São Miguel and São Vicente. The latter, patron of the city and who names the tower. Beneath, there is a very interesting detail, the representation of a rhino.

Unfortunately, effects of the erosion over the last 500 years, nowadays is already a little deteriorated. Anyways, it is still a funny story. The books say that Afonso de Albuquerque, governor of the Portuguese Indies, received a rhino from a local king. Not knowing what to do to the present, he sent it to Portugal. Well, also not knowing what to do to the animal, but wanting to please the Pope and guarantee his support to the Portuguese maritime expeditions, King Manuel I sent an embassy to Rome, bringing the rhino as a gift. A violent storm fell on the ship that was carrying the embassy and the animal. Everyone died, but the work and grace of the Holy Spirit came through (it’s the only way). They recovered the animal’s body and embalmed it. The rhino arrived in fact to Rome, but dead. The question that remains in our minds is how was it possible to recover a rhino from the bottom of the seas?

Regarding the rest of the sculpted details, the Manueline style is eminent everywhere: nature and maritime elements as cables, shells, leaves, and so on; Religious elements everywhere – beyond the saints, how many crosses of Christ can you count? And finally, elements linked to the monarchy and the history of Portugal, the coat of arms, the armillary spheres and so on. There are also a few elements that show the Moorish and Eastern influence. For example, the summits of the watch posts. This can be explained by the fact that the tower was built during the “discoveries” peak. Although almost never referred on the Portuguese historiography, it becomes very obvious that the cultural interactions during the voyage’s times impacted everyone involved. Of course, there are many other aspects that are little referred. The most obvious, the consequences of the slave trade. Today, we will focus on the tower of Belém. 😅

At the architecture level, it is quite notorious that the Belém Tower was built in the transition phase between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The tower, tall, is clearly inspired by medieval castles. The bulwark is typically modern. For those who do not know (same as me before reading endless articles about the subject) it is the advanced part of a fortification, usually impenetrable. In this case, it is the lowest area of the tower, where the artillery pieces are placed.

In previous times, neuroballistic was the most common used war technique. Also known as the Catapult mill. The evolution to the pirobalistics technique, that is, the use of gunpowder and artillery/cannons, meant a new way of making war, therefore, big changes also in the military architecture. This is quite notorious in the Belém Tower. From now on it was possible to use low shots to hit the ships in its most vulnerable part. Thus, all artillery pieces are in the bulwark. On the opposite bank was the aforementioned Tower of São Sebastião de Caparica, granting the possibility to make cross fire and ensure that no enemy vessel passed the Tagus entrance.

In the terrace, beyond the magnificent view, the detail that stands out is the statue of Our Lady of Bom Sucesso, also known as Virgem do Restelo, who was believed to protect the navigators. Let’s head to the tower. It has four floors and another terrace, unfortunately, inaccessible. Let’s start with the Governor’s room, where he would ensure the customs control. We read somewhere that the health registration was also done. We are a bit sceptical. At the time, how would they ensure that the sailors did not bring contagious diseases from overseas? And if they were sick, what would happen to them? Were they onboard until recovered? Hmm .. 🧐

On the second floor is the King’s room and the incredible balcony with panoramic views over the Tagus River. An interesting detail pointed out by some of the sources we’ve read, is the fact that the most elaborated decorations are facing the river. Although it was built with the intention of defending the city, this happened at the age of “discoveries.” Wouldn’t there be already the intention of doing here the sending and reception’s overseas expeditions ceremonies? We are already imagining kings and queens, princes and princesses, the entire royal ceremony of sending the vessels away, here, on this balcony. Did they already have binoculars? 😆 Well, with or without binoculars, it is obvious that the country’s gateway was already to be memorable. We just have one question, were the ships and caravels able to port directly in the riverside piers or had to port to the tower and then people and load would be transferred to the land in smaller boats?

Another curious detail about this room, a traveller guide from the nineteenth-century tells us that “two visitors placed on opposite angles of the house, can talk in a low voice and communicate with each other their ideas, without being listen by someone placed in the middle of the house, and therefore, closer to both.” We tried; we were not fully convinced. Please try and then give us feedback. 😁

On the third floor there is the hearings room. We didn’t find any amazing details about it. It’s a good place to sit and rest for a bit. I am already imagining art historians wanting to hit us. 😅 On the last floor, the chapel and its incredible barrel.

I know, this article is long already, but it’s 500 years of history. As you might imagine, there are many stories to tell. The following episode represents a less radiant period of the Portuguese history. After the disappearance of King D. Sebastian in the battle of Alcácer-Quibir (1578), the Kingdom of Portugal inherited a succession war. The Portuguese candidate and his supporters did try, but the other candidate, King Filipe II of Spain, led his way. After a fierce combat, the Portuguese troops had to surrender to the foreign forces.

The Filipine Dynasty (1580-1640) followed. During that period the Kingdom of Portugal was under the Spanish crown. From then on and until the nineteenth century, the arms warehouse became dungeons, those with deplorable conditions and water to the waist. There were several political prisoners. Usually, important people who disobeyed the king. There was even an archbishop who died here.

During the Filipine period there were some additions made to the tower structure. A two-storey building was built on the bulwark terrace to serve as caserns. Heavens, I can only imagine how many turns on the grave gave the poor architect who projected the Tower. Fortunately, this barrack was demolished. It is also said that King Filipe II asked an Italian architect to project a large fortress to be built at the site of the “useless Castle of S. Vicente”. As we know, this did not happen.

In the late 1700’s, when Bom Sucesso’s Fort was built, a walled corridor was also built to connect both. During the French invasions (1807-1810), the artillery and the side walls of the tower were reinforced. We cannot forget the military role of the tower, can we? Finally, in the mid-nineteenth century, after the writer Almeida Garret dull half a world because of the deteriorated state of the Belém’s Tower, the government insured restoration works. All the military additions that had been made over the years were demolished and some new manueline decorative elements were added.

The aesthetic sense didn’t last. Once again for practical reasons, in the last decades of the 1800, a telegraph service station and a headlight were set up in the Belém Tower. Afterwards, to ensure the total damage of the 16th century’s aura, a gas factory was built in the plot around the tower. Is lasted almost 70 years. 🤯🙄 It was demolished for the Portuguese World Exhibition, in 1940. The scenery that today involves the Belém Tower has the signature of the landscape architect António Viana Barreto, who, for this same reason, names this beautiful garden. One day we will also write about it.

We end as we started. Considered World Heritage by UNESCO since 1983, the Belém Tower is beautiful. It is worth the waiting in line. Just do yourself a favour, buy the ticket in advance. You can do it online. Since it is such an old monument, for security reasons, there is a maximum number of people who can be simultaneously inside the tower.

Informations:

- Website: Torre de Belém

References:

- https://www.patrimoniocultural.gov.pt/pt/museus-e-monumentos/dgpc/m/torre-de-belem/
- http://www.monumentos.gov.pt/site/app_pagesuser/sipa.aspx?id=4065
- https://ensina.rtp.pt/artigo/torre-de-belem-a-joia-ribeirinha/
- https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/tower-of-belém
- https://www.tintazul.com.pt/castelos/historia/neuro-piro.html
- Araújo, N. (1944) Inventário de Lisboa, fascículo 1, CML: Lisboa.
- Viegas, J. C. (1952) O antigo Porto de Belém na margem direita do Rio Tejo. Revista Municipal. CML: Lisboa.
- Machado, J. C. (1880) Novo Guia do Viajante em Lisboa. 4ª Edição. J. J. Bordalo: Lisboa.
- (1845) Guia de Viajantes em Lisboa e suas vizinhanças. R. Ferreira e Cª: Lisboa.
- Ramalho, M. C. e Brito. N. (1939) A Tôrre de Belém, VI do Volume “Guia de Portugal Artístico” Edição de M. Costa Ramalho: Lisboa.
- Giorgetti, G. R. (2022). Contributos para a Valorização Patrimonial do Legado de D. Manuel I, nos 500 Anos da sua Morte. Relatório de Estágio no Mosteiro dos Jerónimos e Torre de Belém. Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa.

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