Castelo de Castro Marim

On 20 August 1504, a new foral was issued by King Manuel I who ordered the restoration of the fortifications, including the walls of the castle.[1] Designs were executed in 1509-1510, by Duarte de Armas, with several modernized barbicans (a missing or destroyed merlons) and irregular plant, that accompanied the topography of the region and encompassed the village. In the eastern corner was a rectangular tower lined with merlons and accessed by a large gate with arched door; to the west was a smaller tower, but with a gate surmounted by a sculpted coat-of-arms (with main shield and five smaller shields); in the north, was a small arch close to the ground for sewage, flanked by barbicans; and to the north, the rectangular castle was constructed with cylindrical towers in each corner, surmounted by merlons and crowned by a conical wood structure (likely ceiling beams with tile); the southern aspect also included a cell block/tower, with low rectangular bulwark and two levels of windows. The keep consisted of a rectangular bulwark, with a false portico, protected by low body protruding from the wall, devoid of merlons. In the interior of the fortress's longitudinal courtyard were various shelters, including a chapel and two cisterns. Within the historic town walls were visible the two- to three-storey houses, a chapel with a double belfrey, with a few homes to the east and west.