Torre de Belém - Lisboa, Portugal
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Metro2
N 38° 41.526 W 009° 12.932
29S E 481255 N 4282631
The Torre de Belém a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Waymark Code: WMR9GB
Location: Lisboa, Portugal
Date Posted: 05/26/2016
Views: 16
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Belém Tower (Portuguese: Torre de Belém, ... or the Tower of St Vincent is a fortified tower located in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (along with the nearby Jerónimos Monastery) because of the significant role it played in the Portuguese maritime discoveries of the era of the Age of Discoveries.[3] The tower was commissioned by King John II to be part of a defense system at the mouth of the Tagus river and a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon.
The tower was built in the early 16th century and is a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style, but it also incorporates hints of other architectural styles.[5] The structure was built from lioz limestone and is composed of a bastion and a 30 m (100 feet), four storey tower. It has incorrectly been stated that the tower was built in the middle of the Tagus and now sits near the shore because the river was redirected after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In fact, the tower was built on a small island in the Tagus River near the Lisbon shore."
As for the book, Good Reads (
visit link) informs us:
"Torre de Belem
by Paulo Pereira
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The Torre de Belem in Libson, Portugal, was built as a fortress in 1514 and was an essential part of the defensive system at the mouth of the River Tejo. It is a fine example of the period's advanced defensive technology, designed to support heavy artillery. Its harmonious and distinctive shape is sharply outlined against the sky and water, and the delicate decoration of its stone suggests to those who feast their eyes upon it the appearance of a finely carved jewel. It was, however, seen differently by those living at the time of its construction. To them, the tower was a formidable and fearsome defensive fortress at the entrance to the river, as its founder, D. Manuel, had intended. The only completely Manueline building in Portugal, its decoration includes the iconic Manueline symbols of cables encircling the building and ending in elegant knots, armillary spheres, crosses of the Military Order of Christ, and elements from nature. Classified by UNESCO in 1983 as a World Heritage Site, the to (less)
Paperback, 64 pages
Published July 5th 2006 by Scala Books (first published February 1st 2005)
Original TitleTorre de Belem (National Monuments of Portugal S.)
ISBN 1857593111 (ISBN13: 9781857593112)
Edition LanguageEnglish
Other Editions
None found"