Roqueta Tower - Viana do Castelo

To open the sea route to the Indies and protect navigation in the Lima Bar, D. Manuel I (1495-1521) ordered the construction of a bastioned tower around 1502 , in the Santa Catarina field, far to the west of the village.

Later it was discovered that the construction was not sufficient and the castle-fortress of Santiago da Barra was built around it. The tower is built in late Gothic style and has a rectangular shape. It was used as a watchtower and then as a prison , until it was decided to use it as a meteorological station .

The model would be similar to that of the Cascais Baluarte (begun in 1498), and would anticipate that of the Tower of Belém (in 1515), for the defense of the bank of the Tagus. Possibly armed with a mason, who would have given it the name Torre da Roqueta, this primitive construction had a bastion overlooking the Lima River, which was demolished in later campaigns.

Willem Vandenameele