Castle of Beja

This region of the Alentejo had been settled since pre-history by disperse tribes, but it was first mentioned in the writings of Ptolemy and Polybius. But, it was sometime between the beginning of the 3rd century and the end of the 4th century, that the walls of Pax Julia were constructed; part of the Roman arch (Évora Gate) dated from this general construction in the Roman provinces. In order to recuperate the architectural heritage, in 1938 the Roman arch (Évora Gate) was reconstructed and the fortification walls rebuilt from the backyards and homes that intersected the old lines. It was only reopened on 19 July 2016. Between 2014 and 2015, archeological excavations were undertaken at the top of the hilltop of Outeiro do Circo, that also included conservation of the keep tower. The following year, in March, during work in the park of Vista Alegre, archaeological vestiges of a gate and former-Roman wall, and in August, further excavations were initiated in Outeiro do Circo along the northwest wall, associated with the late Bronze Age fortification. A joint project between the Câmara Municipal of Beja and the DRCAlentejo continued to work on conservation in the keep tower, costing 500,000 Euros, that included a 2016 project to recuperate the walls of the Terreirinho das Peças, for 71,000 Euros. ==Architecture==

The remnants of the castle are situated on a hilltop, along which extends the wall fortifications of the city Beja, encircled by landscaped gardens. Immediately nearby are the Sé Cathedral, Chapel of Santo Amaro, the building of the Hospital da Misericórdia, residences of the Guedes and Campos families, and municipal palace. The castle is the principal nucleus of a group of fortifications that encompass the medieval city, implanted in its northwest corner. It is an irregular pentagonal plan, with a partially-encircled irregular barbican to the north and southern line. The two lines of walls are lined with parallel merlons over embrasures, internally encircled by adarves and reinforced by corbels and towers, protected by battlements towers. The exception is the eastern tower, an irregular pentagon, addorsed externally on the castle angle, and two semi-circular corbel, that reinforces the southeast barbican with gates. The Praça de Armas (place-of-arms) is accessible from these gates which links to the other wall fortifications, between corbels, and the other open to the north. In the interior, addorsed to the north and eastern walls, is the two-storey Casa do Governador (''Governor's Residence''). The residence has a first-floor chimney with entrance torn by arched openings, one that provides access to barbican to the north, that includes second-storey windows. The tower keep is situated in the northeast, and projects to the exterior; it is tall tower, approximately three stories, with adarves and machicolations and marked by prismatic merlons and covered with a terrace. Each space has different plans. The first registry, includes has two pentagonal floors marked by spaces of differing profile: the facade oriented to the praça de armas has a Roman portico, a balcony window and an arched window. Over this space, circled by adarves, is a smaller second floor, prismatic with small polygonal towers, corresponding to the third floor, with door. Below the parapet covered in merlons with a tri-lobe freise and zoomorphic gargoyles. Interior The three floors of the tower are linked by circular staircase, with one space per floor, the floors are rectangular on the first and third floors and octagonal on the second floor. The first floor is covered with polygonal copula and ribs over half columns, decorated in sculpted vegetal surfaces. The second floor is illuminated by four windows and includes a vaulted ceiling with ribs forming an eight-pointed star and decorated in with vegetal forms supported by anthropomorphic sculptures. Similarly, the third floor is covered in vaulted ceiling cruciform of ogives. ==References==