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GPS 38.693996726411804, -9.419361417456583

The Citadel of Cascais is a fortress located in the current parish of Cascais and Estoril, in the village and municipality of Cascais, in the district of Lisbon, in Portugal.

On the right bank of the Tagus River, this is a fortified complex comprising:

the Fort of Nossa Senhora da Luz de Cascais, the Tower of Santo António de Cascais and the Palace of the Cascais Citadel The ensemble had the function of defending that stretch of coast in the access to the capital, Lisbon, and after 1870, of summer residence of the kings of Portugal. Currently, it serves as a summer residence for the President of the Portuguese Republic, in addition to the Pousada located there.

Cascais Citadel has been classified as a Public Interest Property since 1977.

History

Background

The primitive fortification of the site dates back to a late-medieval tower, begun under the reign of João II of Portugal (1481-1495).

The Citadel of Cascais

At the time of the Philippine Dynasty, under the reign of Philip II of Spain (1580-1598), the expansion and reinforcement of this defense was projected, as part of the vast defense plan for the mouth of the Tagus River (1590).

This project, however, was not fully implemented, having been limited to strengthening and expanding the original tower which, having received a plan in the triangular shape, was reopened under the invocation of Nossa Senhora da Luz.

Fort of Nossa Senhora da Luz de Cascais After the Restoration of Independence of Portugal, the idea of ​​the Philippine project was revived, with the so-called Citadel being erected. The epigraphic inscription over the gun gate reads:

"I.H.S.V.M. / EL=REI DOM IOÃO 4o. De FELICE MEMORIA MANDOU FA= / ZER THIS FORTRESS BEING G.or DAS ARMAS DO ANto LVIZ / DE MENEZES CÔDe DE CANTANHEDe DoS SEVS CONEIRS DESTATED E G= / VREA VEADOR DE SVA FADA COMECOV NO ANNO DE 1681"

20th century

The Cascais Citadel complex, including the Nossa Senhora da Luz Fort, the Santo António de Cascais Tower, and the entire fortified part between Ponta do Salmodo and the Clube Naval de Cascais, is classified as a Property of Public Interest through Decree nº 129/77 of September 29, 1977.

XXI century

More recently, after the Citadel was handed over to the Cascais City Council, this municipality studied projects to revitalize it and its surrounding area, one of the most quoted aimed at its recovery and implementation, there, of a museum.

On March 18, 2012, a hotel unit with 126 rooms, restaurant, music venue, shops and event space was opened called "Pousada Cascais". This investment was made by Grupo Pestana.

On March 8, 2014, the "Cidadela Art District" was inaugurated, an outdoor art exhibition centre, with cultural galleries and open studios for artists to work in front of visitors. The "Cidadela Art District" is an initiative of the Pestana Group, manager of the Pousada de Cascais, located in the fortress of Cidadela. "The objective of the project is that all spaces in the Cidadela, from the Pousada to the walls of the Fortress, can be transformed into exhibition spaces and that 'in loco' creation is a constant dynamic between the artists in periodic residence and the invited artists" , says the Pestana Group. The Cidadela Art District includes six cultural galleries, including the first Raw Art gallery in Portugal, and six "open studios", where artists can be seen working. count on the participation of Sandro Resende, known for artistic interventions of great media coverage such as the project "Contentores", "Outdoors" or the more recent "Janela". Duarte Amaral Netto, Paulo Arraiano, Paulo Brighenti or Susana Anágua are some of the invited artists, as well as Galeria Viarco or Magnética Magazine, among others. and seven "site specific" interventions. With the inauguration of the project, the Pousada de Cascais also changes its name and has a new designation: "Pousada Cascais - Cidadela Historic Hotel & Art District".

This is the first hotel in Europe to have a cultural space of its kind.

Cidadela Art District aims to bring contemporary art to the general public through the appropriation of unconventional spaces and means associated with mass communication while promoting artistic development through its role as a mediator for artists and galleries. On the one hand, it brings art into a context of everyday life and on the other, using “non-places” or transitional spaces, it bets on decontextualization. On the 1st floor of the Art District are the artists' studios: Bruno Pereira, Duarte Amaral Netto, Paulo Arraiano, Paulo Brighenti, Pedro Matos and Susana Anágua. Here, you can learn about and follow their work process because the studios are open to the public for 12 months. On Floor 0 are located the galleries and creative platforms. Among them, the Raw Art Brut Gallery - the first gallery of Portuguese raw art and Cinco - contemporary art gallery with some renowned artists, such as Luís Alegre, Paulo Mendes, Pedro Cabral Santo, among others. Viarco also opens its first store, Magnética Magazine establishes its headquarters here and the author publishing house, Branco, opens its doors to the public.

On April 29, 2014, the citadel was classified as a special protection zone.

Characteristics

Cascais stronghold is subdivided into three parts:

the so-called Citadel, occupied by the Army before being handed over to the City Council; the Fortress of Nossa Senhora da Luz (previously assigned to the General Staff of the Navy and already transferred) and; the Palace, which belongs to the Presidency of the Republic, whose transfer the Chamber has been negotiating recently.

The Palace of the Citadel of Cascais

The history of the Palace of the Citadel of Cascais is related to that of the heads of state of Portugal, from the Monarchy to the Republic. Used as the summer residence of the Royal House from 1870, the palace was assigned to the Presidency of the Republic after the change of regime in 1910. Inhabited by several Presidents of the Portuguese Republic – from Manuel de Arriaga to Bernardino Machado, in the 1st Republic, or Óscar Carmona, who took up official residence there during the Estado Novo – the Palace went through a long period of uncertainty and near abandonment.

In 2004, the Museum of the Presidency of the Republic began an in-depth study of the Cascais Citadel Palace, which allowed us to reconstitute its historical memory. On the initiative of President Cavaco Silva, a process of rehabilitation of the building was carried out, led by the Presidency of the Republic, with funds made available by Turismo de Portugal IP, which resulted in its opening to the public, for the first time in history.

Visitors will be able to visit the stately rooms of the Palace, the chapel of N. S. da Vitória, the former bedroom of King D. Luís or the Arab room, which served as the office of President Craveiro Lopes, thus getting to know a heritage of great significance, due to its history, architecture and privileged location in the bay of Cascais.

Visits take place through the Museum of the Presidency of the Republic.

Curiosities It was in the bay of Cascais that the Duke of Alba disembarked, in 1580, to take possession of Portugal in the name of Philip II of Spain. In the context of the Restoration of Independence, the stronghold of Cascais began to coordinate the line of defensive fortifications on the right bank of the Tagus, such as the Fort of Crismina, the Fort of Nossa Senhora da Conceição and the Fort of Nossa Senhora da Guia , between others. In the context of the Peninsular War, it was in Cascais that General Jean-Andoche Junot settled. Here he also signed his surrender (1808). It was from the Citadel that the Infantry Regiment of Cascais left, in 1810, for the battle of Buçaco, under the protection of Santo António, whose image is still in the Citadel. It was in Cidadela that, on September 28, 1878, electric lighting was inaugurated in the country. The Citadel was used as a royal residence from 1871, when King Luís I died there. It was in Cascais that the Portuguese Royal Family began to go to the beach. From then on, several important families began to settle there, building their palaces, which transformed the town into a cosmopolitan community. After the establishment of the Portuguese Republic, the Palace became dependent on the Presidency of the Republic, having been used mainly by Óscar Carmona, who lived there almost all the time he was President of the Republic.

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