Fort of Nossa Senhora da Rocha

The Fort of Nossa Senhora da Rocha is a medieval castle situated in the civil parish of Porches, in the municipality of Lagoa in Portuguese Algarve. Inside the fort is the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Rocha, of uncertain date.Doubt continues to exist as to the origin of the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Rocha, as well as the original fort that existed on this site. The privileged location on a promontory reflects the importance of the site, which was fortified to help secure the coast from Ossonoba to Lacobriga , as well as protecting the beach and maritime access. The 8th century is normally used as a reference, suggesting a construction based on the reuse of existing Roman-era elements. The actual configuration of the temple is difficult to catalog. On one hand, the constructors reused the capitals, presupposing a public construction that occurred in the High Middle Ages. On the other hand, successive remodelling, painting and lack of prior archaeological excavations has made rigorous analysis impossible; this lack of information has contributed to the difficulty in dating and contextualizing the style of architecture. Despite a lack of archaeological research, scholars believe that at the time of the Muslim invasion of the Iberian peninsula, the site was already a military fortification.

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