PT RR - Group 60 * Castles/Palaces

Castles and palaces are one of my favorite themes, i had to join this group. There's a lot of portuguese castles and places that i'm still missing in my collection.

Photo: Oswaldo Santos

The Soure castle was one of the missing castles in my collection. The card was sent by José "zepombal".

It is said that the construction of Soure castle began in the 11th century. It was immediately destroyed by the Moors during a battle. One century later, it was donated to Count Fernando Peres de Trava, who rebuilt it. In the 20th century it was given to Soure Town Hall. Despite a rather complicated process regarding the deeds and the ownership of the castle, the castle became property of Soure Town Hall. The dominating architectural styles are: Medieval, Romanic, along with Gothic and Manueline influences. It is a simple castle of small dimensions. Remains of the citadel can still be seen, defined by four towers in the angles, a Suevi-Visigoth door and a Mozarab window. - in: http://en.lifecooler.com/lifecooleren/soure-castle-castles-and-forts-327701-1.html

Photo by N. Kustos
Ninocas also joined this group and sent me this card with the Sintra City Hall building, a fine example of Neo-Manueline architecture. Built between 1906 and 1909 on the site of the demolished Chapel of S. Sebastião, its main features are the wonderful Neo-Manueline windows; a clock tower with battlements; and a panel of ceramic tiles portraying the Cross of Christ and the Portuguese coat of arms - at the top of which, is an armillary sphere. - in: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Portugal/Distrito_de_Lisboa/Sintra-279605/Things_To_Do-Sintra-City_Hall-BR-1.html

Photo by Maurício Abreu

One of my 1st meeting of this year was in this castle, Palmela castle. The Palmela Castle doesn't reveal any important architectural references, neither has it any legends. However it is mentioned by the Portuguese writer Luís de Camões in his book Os Lusíadas, which emphasises D. Afonso Henriques deed, who with only sixty worriers re conquered the castle.

PT RR - Group 57 * I wish

I used to host this RR but i "quit" and now Miguel is the men in charge. Some of the groups are still from the old RR but he already opened a few new ones. These cards are from one of the old groups, in this case a 3 wishes group. I wished churches, castles/palaces and landscapes.

© Maurício de Abreu

Ninocas sent me this card from Mértola which was one of my favorites.
The town of Mértola is located on a hill by the Guadiana river, in southeastern Portugal next to the Spanish border. Among the vestiges of its past, Mértola boasts the only mediaeval mosque to have survived in Portugal. Church of the Assumption of Mary, originally a mosque was built between the 12th and 13th centuries. After the Christian conquest of the town, in 1238, the mosque was turned into a church, but its architectonic structure was left unaltered. In the 16th century the church was partially remodelled, gaining Manueline vaulting with a new roof and a new main portal in Renaissance style. Nevertheless, the inner arrangement of the naves of the church, with four naves and several columns, strongly resembles that of the original mosque, and the interior of the church still has the mihrab, the decorated niche that indicates the direction of the Mecca. Outside, the church has four portals with horseshoe arches, typical of Islamic architecture. - in: wikipedia

© IBERPONTO, photo by Aníbal Santos

This is a card from Redondo, Joaninha's hometown. On the card there's the Calvary Church built in the 17th century; the Misericórdia Church from the 16th century; St. Peter Chapel which origin is not know but already existed in 1534 and the St. Anthony Convent built between the 17th and 18th centuries.

© Ilustral
In this RR i've only received cards from southern Portugal and this last one is from the southernmost region, Algarve, with the Ria Formosa, a laggon. This lagoon is a system of barrier islands that communicates with the sea through 6 inlets. Five of these inlets are natural and have mobility characteristics.
Ria Formosa plays an important role in the region's economy. Beyond the tourist use the system also supports other economic activities like seafood farms (including grooved carpet shell harvesting) and the port of Faro.

The Ria Formosa is also a designated Natural Park of over 170 km² and a stopping place for hundreds of different birds during the spring and autumn migratory periods. - in: wikipedia

S. Jorge Castle - Lisbon

I've been playing the hangman game on the portuguese community, in the PC forum, and in the last few days i've received cards as a prize for guessing some sentences. This one is from Lisbon, a view from the S. Jorge Castle over the city. It was sent by Ana Bela "tuguinha".

The Castle of São Jorge is a Moorish castle that occupies a commanding position overlooking the city of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, and the broad Tagus River beyond.
The strongly fortified citadel, which, in its present configuration, dates from medieval times, is located atop the highest hill in the historic center of the city. The castle is one of the main historical and touristic sites of Lisbon. - in: wikipedia

Elvas - Portugal

Some time ago I've favorited a few Elvas cards on the PC wall and Eurico asked me if i'd like to have them. He not only sent me the cards I favorited but also 2 extra ones.

Elvas is an episcopal city and frontier fortress of Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about 230 km east of Lisbon, and about 15 km west of the Spanish fortress of Badajoz.

Elvas houses the largest collection of bastioned fortifications in the world, which are on the Unesco's Tentative List.

The Amoreira Aqueduct was designed by Francisco de Arruda and its construction started in 1537 and ended only in 1620. The aqueduct has an extension of about eight kilometres, with underground galleries, a ground-level canal and arcade canal reaching a maximum height of 31 meters. With the construction of the bastioned walls in the 12th century, the aqueduct became an obstacle to the construction of new fortifications, which alamost led to its demolition. Is one of the most beautiful examples of hydraulic architecture of Portugal, becoming a symbol of Elvas.

And the last card shows a beautiful street and the Elvas pillory.

Monsaraz - Portugal

The 4th card of the Alentejo meeting, the 2nd on this post, was sent by Vitória. The 1st is a RAS card send by Miguel. Both are from Monsaraz, a medieval village in the heart of the Alentejo region. I'd love to visit this place.

In 1157 Monsaraz was conquered from the Moors and in 1167 the locality was donated to the Templars and in 1319 to the Order of Christ.
For centuries, the Monsaraz Castle had a very important role guarding the Guadiana river, and thus the border with Spain.
Monsaraz is surrounded by an astonishing landscape, and from the top of the Castle one can appreciate all its splendour.
All the same, Monsaraz possess valuable and beautiful monuments, based in schist painted in bright white buildings, with houses coming up and down the hill, in a magical environment that seems to have been lost in time. - in: http://www.getportugal.com/en/poi-monsaraz-14903

On this card there's the Nossa Senhora da Lagoa Church (16th and 17th century), the pillory and the main street.

Montemor-o-Novo - Portugal

Montemor-o-Novo is a portuguese city in the Alentejo region, where some postcrossers had a meeting in the beginning of this month. I couldn't be there but when i can't go to meetings, we receive cards from those meetings. That's what happened this time. I've received not 1, but 4 signed cards. These have been sent by Miguel "leugim", Paula "geminiscp" and Zé "pilotOne". The other postcrossers that signed the cards were Vitória "blicas blocas", Luís "ludovico", Ana "ninocas" and Joana "joaninha".

All the cards show the Montemor-o-Novo castle and the last one also shows the Saudação Convent.

Montemor-o-Novo castle was built on the highest mountain in the region, based probably on the site of an old prehistoric fort, with later Roman and Moorish occupation.
It was conquered to the moors by D. Afonso Henriques and D. Sancho I conceded it the 1st charter in 1203.

The 1755 earthquake caused enough damage to the castle, which would require repairs. Having withstood the assaults during the French invasion, was phased out, speeding up the state of disrepair over the twentieth century.

Today, the castle retains the main boom of the wall, protected by eleven cylindrical towers and the ruins of the castle, or palace of Mayors, a building from the beginning of the thirteenth century.

The Convento de Nossa Senhora da Saudação (Convent of Our Lady of the Salutation) has its origin in a congregation composed by some women led by Joana Dias Quadrada. They came together to practice a life devoted to retreat and devotion, initially without being subject to the rules of any religious order.

The work for the construction of the Convent must have started around 1502.
The convent’s church is an interesting example of Classic Baroque architecture.

The Convent, pertaining to the Dominican Order, was always inhabited by a large number of nuns. During the 18th century it housed 65 sisters. With the extinction of the convents in 1874 and the death of the last prioress, the building was occupied by the State and in 1876 it became an asylum for poverty stricken children called Asilo de Infância Desvalida and there it remained until the 1960s.

In recent years, the Convent has undergone some specific restoration work, such as the partial recovery of its ceiling. This occurred during the second half of the 1990s and was carried out by D.G.E.M.N. It prevented the further deterioration of this valuable and monumental architectural complex. In 1998, the Municipal Council undertook the restoration of the woodwork in the church. At present, the building is occupied by the transdisciplinary centre O Espaço do Tempo and the archeology workshop entitled Oficina de Arqueologia do Programa do Castelo da Câmara Municipal de Montemor-o-Novo. - in: http://www.oespacodotempo.pt/en/esp_tem.php?idpan=convento

US-1361884

Today i've received two official cards, this one from Boston, in the US and another one from Japan.

US-1361884, sent by Melissa.

Old North Church is located 193 Salem Street, in the North End of Boston.
The church is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. It is the oldest active church building in Boston and is a National Historic Landmark. Inside the church is a bust of George Washington, which the Marquis de Lafayette reportedly remarked was the best likeness of him he had ever seen.

Old North Church was built in 1723, and was inspired by the works of Christopher Wren, the British architect who was responsible for rebuilding London after the Great Fire. - in: wikipedia