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The Castle of Silves is a military monument located in the city, parish and municipality of Silves, in the district of Faro, in the Algarve, in Portugal. The set of defensive structures in Silves consisted of two elements: an outer wall that protected part of the city, forming a medina, and the fortress inside, known as the alcáçova, located at the highest point of the hill. The citadel is the largest structure of its kind in the Algarve, and one of the most important monuments in the region, and is also considered the finest example of Islamic military architecture in the country.
The outer defenses were built in the early years of Islamic occupation, in the 8th century, in the early years of Muslim rule over the region, having reached its peak in the 11th century, when Silves became the capital of a taifa, a type of kingdom autonomous. The citadel was probably built much later, during the Almohad Caliphate (1121 - 1269). However, both the city and the castle itself fell into decline after being first taken over by Christian forces in 1189. It was retaken by the Muslims only about a year and a half later, in 1191, but the destruction caused by military campaigns prevented the its rebirth. Even so, the castle was later subject to major works in the 12th and 13th centuries. Silves was definitively reconquered in 1249, but continued in frank regression, mainly due to the silting up of the Arade River, despite the crown's various attempts to encourage its development. In the 15th century, Infante D. Henrique stayed in Silves as mayor. The castle itself was classified as a National Monument in 1910, while the city walls and Porta Almedina were also protected as a National Monument in 2012. In the 1940s, the citadel underwent major restoration work by the government, with most of the walls and towers being reinforced or rebuilt.
Description
Importance and location
Silves Castle is considered one of the most important fortifications from the Muslim era in the country. It is one of the main monuments in the region, and the most important from a tourist point of view in the municipality of Silves, having received more than 200 thousand visitors in 2014. Both the citadel and the remains of the village fence, including its old entrance known as Porta da Almedina, were classified as a National Monument.
It is located in the city of Silves, on a small hill near the right bank of the River Arade, in a place that allowed control of the entire surrounding region, especially river navigation on the River Arade. From the citadel you can see the city of Portimão and the Serra de Monchique. From a geographical point of view, this area is located in the transition between the Algarve's Barrocal and the Baixo Alentejo region. The urban area develops along the east, south and west slopes. Dwellings defined steep and irregular streets that stretched to the Arade River. It was built on the east end of the top of a hill with a maximum elevation of 56 m, next to the right bank of this river, where the houses were intersected by steep and irregular streets. On the north and east sides of the aforementioned elevation, the slopes, very steep, provided good natural defense conditions.
Composition
The set of defenses for Silves was mainly made up of the citadel, located at the highest point of the hill, and the town fence, formed by a belt of walls around the city that originally enclosed an area of around 9.75 to 12 hectares. . These external walls almost completely surrounded the village, forming a medina. There was also a third set of walls, of secondary importance, which protected some parts of the city not surrounded by the village fence, and the cuiraça, a wall that reached the banks of the river. Both the citadel and the village fence were laid out in such a way as to better adapt to the terrain, following the contour lines, with the stretches on the north and east sides at a higher level, while the south and west sections were installed at half slope. These structures fit the typology of fortresses from the Umayyad period, having several elements in common with buildings from the same period of Syrian-Palestinian construction.
The defenses of Silves, as they appeared before the military campaign of 1189, were described in this way by Alexandre Herculano: «The line of fortifications encompassed all the buildings in the village, which contained no less than twenty to thirty thousand souls. The outskirts were surrounded by an extensive wall, to which the Medina and Kassba were linked in a way by the armor and by a covered road, which, going down the slope, came to enter the Albarran Tower, which, together with the lower city, guarded the campaign. This tower served not so much as a defense for the point where it was located, as for the medina; because with the shots fired from it, those who approached the walls of the upper city would be wounded in the back. The armor that went down to the side of the river Drade, [sic] defended by four towers, offered safe passage for those who lived in the medina and in the kassba to go down to provide themselves with water, which was scarce there and which was plentiful in a well located in the end of that fortification. All these lines of walls were crowned with towers, so close together that a stone thrown from any one of them, save the immediate one, would strike the next one; and even in the more exposed or weaker places the distance from one to the other was reduced by half. Finally, the entrances to the gates were tortuous in such a way, forming successive angles, that it would be easier to cross the walls at the visible scale than to penetrate through them».
Alcáçova
The citadel has an irregular polygon-shaped plan, and has eleven quadrangular towers, with corners reinforced in masonry. Two of the towers are albarrãs and nine are adossed, and are composed of a high keep, three turrets and seven squares, with battlements, connected by a curtain of walls with a darve, topped by battlements with arrow slits, occupying a flat area. The towers are connected to the round path, about 388 m long. Some of the towers still feature elements that were introduced during the major restoration works in the 14th and 15th centuries, such as doors with Gothic arches, broken back, and vaulted rooms. The citadel was built with a massive device in military rammed earth. Access is via a double door with an atrium, protected by two towers, next to which the reception and a shop for visitors have been installed. Next to this entrance is a bronze statue of King D. Sancho I, who conquered the castle of Silves for the first time. On the northern side of the citadel there is a secondary entrance, the Porta da Traição, which made it possible to cross the outer walls in a more discreet way, thus guaranteeing greater autonomy of the citadel in relation to the city itself.
In terms of green spaces, a reconstruction was made of what the gardens of the Palácio das Varandas would look like, with a Muslim ambience, with several different species planted, such as pepper trees, pomegranates, oleanders, orange trees, lemon trees, fig trees, rosemary, blueberries, mint, rose trees and sugar canes. The original gardens were fed by canals, passing underneath the contemporary building where the tea house was installed. At another point in the citadel, next to the ruins, there is a large linden tree, which predates the reconstruction works and is considered one of the symbols of the monument.
Evocation of Silves, by Al-Mutamid Greetings to Silves, Abu Becre Friend The places so dear to me From my unforgettable youth. Ask them if they still remember me... He salutes especially Xaradjibe, This beautiful Palácio das Varandas... Tell him that a knight lives far away Who dies little by little to see him again. In him lived, strong and daring, Warriors that in my eyes looked like Lions with wild manes... And restless and beautiful women, How white gazelles in the sunset... How I remember the surrounding jungles And the matchless poetry of its corners...
Adaptation of Guerra Roque, from a Spanish translation by Garcia Gomez
Palace of the Balconies
Inside the citadel, the remains of a building were found, which probably corresponded to a two-story palace-fortress, rectangular in plan and covering an area of 320 m². The compartments inside included rooms and alcoves, courtyards, two housing units, private areas for bathing in an Umayyad configuration, and various interior gardens, one of which is porticoed and has an upper gallery. Also noteworthy are the coverings on the floors, in marble and tiles, and on the walls and arches, in addition to the profuse details of the stucco, which attest to the wealth that the palace achieved. It was known as Palácio Almóada or Palácio das Varandas, the name by which it appears in a poem by Al-Mutamid about Silves. This building is of great importance, as it is the only known Islamic palace in the country, in addition to the fact that no traces of other palatine residences of this type have been found in the westernmost region of Gharb al-ʼAndalus. Later, in the part identified as the palace, an arch was reconstituted, in white materials, in order to contrast with the surrounding ruins.
In the article O "Xarajibe" by Silves in poetry, art and history, published in the journal Atlântico: revista luso-brasileira in 1947, historian José Garcia Domingues refers that «the palace of Xarajibe, by Silves, was, in the West, an authentic vision of the «One Thousand and One Nights»», adding that «poets sang about it with the highest refinement, artists adorned it with works of strange craftsmanship, historians celebrated it as a charming princely residence», and that «to evoke Xarajibe is to evoke [...] the time and lifestyle of the Luso-Arabs». According to Garcia Domingues, the poem by Al-Mutamid may be the oldest reference to the palace, having been the only one known until the publication of the work Scriptorum Arabum loci de Abbaditis, by the Dutch researcher Reinhart Dozy (1820-1883), where the your description. In another work by Reinhart Dozy, Historia Abbadidarum, the palace and the city of Silves are mentioned again, made by the historian Ibn Khaqan (es), allegedly based on a report by the son of Al-Mutamid, Al-Motaze: «This palace of Xarajib then he had reached the highest peak of magnificence and splendor. It was similar to the most famous one in the city of Baghdad, Iraq. The noble horses of his courts ran in him and the lightning flashed on his terraces of the things that could be most desired and he offered. Fortune, truly obedient, radiated from him, from the moment he began the morning journey until the end of the afternoon journey, that is, on those days when the talismans that constituted his security were not removed from that palace. And the palace was not even lacking for chalices with the flowers of youth. This city had him as the place where it happily lived its multiple hopes and as the highest of its riches. To which was added the beauty of the panorama, the fragrance of perfumes and breezes, and the cheerful, luxuriant arrangement of the gardens and tufts of trees. Furthermore, this city was almost surrounded by its two rivers like a necklace, in the same way and in the same place where a man usually wears a belt». This narrative is of great interest not only because it describes the palace and the city, but because it mentions that Silves was surrounded by two rivers, one of which has disappeared. Garcia Domingues speculated that this watercourse originated in the Encherim area, north of Silves and had its mouth in Porto da Azóia, where the Garden of Nossa Senhora dos Mártires was later installed. It is mentioned that the city was not completely surrounded by rivers, perhaps a reference to the way in which the river was almost always dry in its central part, allowing its passage through large stone banks, which according to several witnesses were still visible in the XIX century. Another prominent Islamic historian who made reference to the Palácio das Varandas was Ibne Anmar.
Cisterns and mayor
Inside the citadel there were also three cisterns, one of which stands out due to its large dimensions, which corresponds to a aljibe (es), popularly known as the Moorish cistern. This space has a rectangular plan, 20 m long by 16 m wide, and a height of 7 m. the walls. It was supplied by rainwater, channeled through the vaults, and had an approximate capacity of 1300000 liters, with an estimated autonomy of up to one year. It was responsible for guaranteeing the water supply to a large part of the city, having performed this function until the 1990s. As part of the fortress' musealization program, the aljibe was converted into an exhibition space. According to researcher Ataíde Oliveira, the largest cistern was linked to one of the legends of enchanted moors that emerged in the region, in which, at midnight on St. along her journey, she sings beautiful songs, lamenting her death, and waiting for a prince to appear to say the magic words to disenchant her. Ataíde Oliveira added that, according to popular tradition, those who sought to be scholars in matters related to witchcraft should visit the Moorish cistern three times a year. He also related a story linked to this legend, according to which a woman knocked on the door of the house where the jailer of Silves lived, and it was explained to her that he was absent, but that her son was “taking his place”. The woman then asked her son to go with her to the cistern, and when he refused, he left immediately. At another point in the citadel is the Cisterna dos Cães, which formed a large well over 40 m deep, the first 15 m below the surface being rectangular in shape, and then sub-circular. This structure was connected to a reservoir. According to popular tradition, its name comes from treasure hunters having released dogs here to discover Islamic treasures abandoned in the underground areas of the citadel, but the animals did not return. Another popular explanation for this name is that it would be the place where stray dogs were thrown. According to Alexandre Herculano, these cisterns were necessary due to the lack of water inside the citadel and the medina. Several silos were found nearby, where the cereals that were paid as tribute by the farmers were kept, and whose location in the basement, where the temperatures were lower, allowed a better conservation of the cereals.
In the southwest area of the citadel are the ruins of the mayor's office and a sugar mill, elements that may be linked to the presence of Infante D. Henrique, who was mayor of Silves. According to archaeologist Rosa Varela Gomes, in the area identified as the mayor's office, the remains of four compartments were discovered, an ogival door, stairs leading to a first floor that has since disappeared, and a set of items "contemporary to Infante D. Henrique". In fact, various materials from the 14th and 15th centuries were discovered here, including ceramic pieces, coins and buckles.
Village fence and secondary walls
The walls of the village fence were about 2.80 m thick, having been built in a strong device in military rammed earth, composed of clay, gravel, sand and lime, and coated with sandstone in red tones, known as Silves sandstone. They were defended by a barbican, a type of wall of great thickness, also built in rammed earth, and which was located adjacent to the outer walls, in order to protect its base from enemy artillery. This defensive set originally had seventeen towers, seven of which were adjacent to the wall, while the other ten were albarrãs, that is, located outside the structure of the wall, to which they were connected by a walkway over an arch.
It had three gates, all protected by albarrã towers: that of Azóia (Bab-al-Zauiâ) on the northwest side, and which was protected by at least one tower, with eight corners, that of the Sun (Bab-al-Sârus) on the side east, and that of Almedina (Bab-al-Balad), also known as Porta de Loulé, which constituted a massive structure, defended by two albarrã towers, and which formed an elbow. The Porta da Almedina, located in the vicinity of the Town Hall, is the only one of which physical remains remain, located about 60 m, westward from the Porta da Cidade, which was built after the final reconquest. The Porta da Cidade is part of an old albarrã tower, built in sandstone, and whose entrance also formed an elbow, a configuration that was intended to make access difficult for invaders, and which was widely used in Almohad constructions. It gave access to the main road in the city, Rua da Sé, originally known as Rua Direita, and which during the Islamic period connected to the citadel and the Greater Mosque. In the opposite direction, the road descended to the Rio Arade. Originally, it was believed that the City Gate was of Islamic chronology, but excavations carried out in 2017 indicated that the structure could be much later, already from Christian times. In fact, in front of the Porta da Cidade, a flagstone pavement was discovered, made up of large blocks of Silves sandstone, which would form part of a street. Underneath, various archaeological materials were found, including seven coins belonging to the reigns of D. Afonso III and D. Dinis, which indicates that both the promenade and the City Gate could have been built in the 14th century. Due to its heritage value, it was dismantled and then integrated into the street pavement.
The final organization of the outer enclosure would have been received during the reign of Al-Mutamid, in the 12th century, although the elements themselves would have been built shortly before the definitive reconquest. Much of the village fence has already disappeared, with some parts having been demolished as part of the village development and expansion process. For example, a section was demolished to create a new access to the Town Hall building. The surviving sections of the walls are found between the village's houses, next to the streets of Porta da Azóia, Gregório Nunes Mascarenhas Neto, and Nova da Boavista, while another part, along Rua da Porta de Loulé, was integrated into the archaeological museum.
Outside this enclosure was a third set of walls, of lesser importance, which protected the urban areas that grew beyond the village fence, on its eastern side. These areas were known as rabal, which gave rise to the term arrabalde, being a point of concentration of certain industries that could not operate in residential areas, such as tanneries, due to the unpleasant smell they generated. One of these spaces was located on the site of the modern building of the Municipal Library, as evidence of these industries and the secondary walls, which at one point reached more than two meters in height, were found here. Finally, there was the cuiraça, a kind of fortified path that joined the main walls to the banks of the river, thus allowing the city to supply water.
According to Decree n.º 31-C/2012, which classified the walls and the Porta da Almedina, these elements constituted a fundamental part of the old defensive complex of the city, as a complement to the citadel, in addition to being an important testimony of the its urban organization over a very long period, from Roman times to the Modern Age, mainly during Islamic rule. They are also of great importance from the point of view of military architecture, due to the presence of various structures to reinforce the walls, such as the albarrã towers, the cuirasses and the elbow doors, and the materials that were used, mainly the military rammed earth, used only by the Maghreb lineages, and which distinguish it from most other wall systems, built in stone masonry.
Estate
In the area of the citadel and the city walls, a rich set of materials was discovered, which testifies to a long occupation of the site, from the 8th century to the Modern Age. The estate includes ceramic pieces, such as ceramic containers, produced both locally and regionally, as well as glazed and enamelled. In terms of origin, some pieces were of local and regional production, while a significant set came from other parts of the Iberian peninsula, mainly Murcia, Tunisia and Iran. Metallic pieces, such as coins, were also collected, in addition to various artifacts of a military function, such as arrowheads and crossbow bolts.
History
Background
The hill where the fortress is located may have been originally occupied by a castro of the Lusitanian peoples, which would have had connections with the Greek, Phoenician and Carthaginian peoples. This town was taken over by the Romans around 201 BC, which made it an important commercial and military hub. The village was later inhabited during the Visigoth period, as can be seen by the discovery of a religious building from the 6th or 7th century, in the north area of the castle.
Muslim era
Silves was conquered by the Moors in 716, having started to reinforce the defenses in the first years, with the installation of outer walls, greatly expanding the old Roman fortress. Indeed, both the walls and the castle itself have a common typology with other fortresses that were built at the time of the Umayyad Caliphate, between the 8th and 9th centuries, and having several elements similar to those found in Syrian-Palestinian buildings of the same period. Another vestige of the Umayyad period are the baths that were part of the palace, inside the citadel. The outer walls already existed in the 10th century, and in that century the historian Al-Razi mentions that Silves was the best village in the Algarve, and that it had a castle.
and they were subject to works until the 11th century, when the Islamic city of Silves reached its greatest importance, having become the capital of a taifa, under the command of Al-Mutamid. Important works were then carried out on the castle complex during the Almoravid period and later during the Almohad era, between the 12th and 13th centuries, of which some elements still remain inside the palace, such as the residential areas and the garden. The residential structures inside the citadel were probably inhabited until the reconquest.
In this way, the castle was an important nucleus in the Algarve region during medieval Islamic times, both from a military and residential point of view, which allowed to control an important point in the region, mainly the Arade River, which was navigable. The importance of Silves and its castle was recorded by Alexandre Herculano in his work Historia de Portugal, in the description of the conquest of the city: «the city boasted its vast and superb perspective in the eyes of the crusaders, who saw for the first time Muslim capital. Silves was one of the most important towns on the Peninsula. The almedina or ancient city, crowned by its kassba or castle, took the crown of a hill, at whose root a plain extended along the right bank of the river, on which the largest part of the village was settled, the suburb that in itself represented a large city. Compared with Lisbon, Silves was much stronger, and in opulence and sumptuousness of buildings ten times more remarkable. [...] Such circumstances and others that resulted from its situation made that city one of the most important places in Muslim Spain».
Even in the 10th century, the city was already expanding beyond the limits of the medina, since the remains of a wall and of residential and commercial buildings from this period were found under the Municipal Library building, in an area outside the fence of the village.
In 1160, the city was conquered and sacked by the forces of Fernando Magno, although it was retaken by the Muslims shortly afterwards. In 1173 and 1189, major remodeling works were carried out on the walls that protected the medina.
Christian reconquest
Campaign of 1189 The first military campaign with a view to conquering Silves began in 1189, by King D. Sancho I (1185-1211), with a view to dominating that city and the region of Chenchir, of which it was the capital, in addition to it was believed that the fall of Silves would lead to the surrender of other villages and castles of lesser importance. However, the monarch came to the conclusion that the city was too well defended to be attacked by his forces alone, with Alexandre Herculano explaining that «the Portuguese not only considered it as one of the most difficult places to attack, but also as the main focus of resistance to Christian conquest. In fact, the traces that still remain of its ancient walls, and the contemporary memories that describe it, indicate well what were, in relation to the tactics of that time, the difficulties that it would offer to those who tried to reduce it to force». Thus, he followed the example of his father, D. Afonso Henriques, who had used foreign mercenaries during the Siege of Lisbon. This decision was also motivated by a recent attack by the Portuguese and crusaders in the Algarve region, who had successfully attacked the Islamic castle of Alvor. Thus, that summer he hired an army of Nordic crusaders, who were then sailing along the Portuguese coast towards the Holy Land, to help him capture Silves, being paid with the sack of the city. According to Alexandre Herculano, this army consisted of three thousand five hundred men-at-arms, in thirty-six ships. This expedition had started in Germany and Flanders during the spring of 1189, having arrived in Lisbon in the first days of July of that year. The crusaders were of Flemish, Germanic, British and Danish nationality, with Herculaneum referring that the German contingent was led by Louis, Landegrave of Thuringia, while other leaders of the expedition included Henry, Count of Bar and Airard or Ailrad, Count of Braine. The fleet left the Tagus River on the 16th of July of that year, and just four days later began to sail up the Arade River.
The attack on the city was described by Alexandre Herculano, who quoted a document left by an anonymous crusader, having started with the landing of the crusaders, possibly on the islet of Senhora do Rosário, where they met with troops who had come by land. Before attacking the city itself, the crusaders looted and burned several nearby villages, which had been abandoned by the inhabitants, but two soldiers were killed by Moorish Almogavars. They then returned to the ships and continued up the Arade to Silves.
The assault began with the climb of the first line of walls, using ladders, which was successful, although most of the defenders managed to escape to the medina, since their light equipment allowed them to escape faster than than the heavy armor of Christians. The defenses of the almedina were much more resistant, being surrounded by deep and steep ditches, making it difficult to install stairs, in addition to the fact that Islamic soldiers constantly launched projectiles from the top of the walls, despite the Christians being protected by crossbowmen and archers. The crusaders thus withdrew to their camp, and the Muslims took advantage of this to recover the lower city. On their retreat, the Christians tried to set fire to the city's buildings, but with little result, as Islamic building systems were fire resistant. There was then a pause in the fighting, during which siege engines were prepared, and more reinforcements arrived, with King D. Sancho arriving on the 29th of July. It was during this phase that an incident occurred, which provoked a lively revolt among the besiegers: during the first assault, English soldiers had killed a priest or other important person inside a mosque, something that was considered sacrilegious by the Muslims, which they responded by hanging three Christians from the battlements of an albarrã tower, then killing them with spear blows. The Christians then tried to destroy the walls with a siege machine known as a hedgehog, a kind of battering ram, but this attempt also failed. By order of the king, two catapults were prepared, which were much more successful, and began to undermine the outer walls, especially the section known as cuiraça, since this defended the city's water supply. Indeed, a deserter had informed the monarch that if the breastplate was taken, the city would certainly surrender. Thus, the attacks were resumed, with a tower and part of a battleship wall being destroyed. The Muslims rushed to defend the breach, but were eventually defeated, so they abandoned the three still intact towers of the cuirass and took refuge again in the medina.
Having reconquered the lower city, Christian troops blocked the well that was used by the Muslims, and which was defended by the cuirass, thus cutting off the water supply to the city. They then began to open mines in order to destroy the walls of the medina, digging under the houses, in order to hide their manoeuvres. However, the defenders noticed this operation and launched a sortie the next morning, setting fire to the houses on which mines were being excavated, with the fire spreading to the tunnels' woodwork, destroying them. The Flemish troops tried a new strategy, to demolish one of the city walls that had communication with the defenses of the medina, but it also ended up being thwarted by the besieged. However, almost daily there were Muslim soldiers surrendering to the Christians, and it was found that this was mainly due to the lack of water in the upper city, since the cisterns and wells had their reserves almost empty, in addition to the fact that the water was brackish. In fact, since the beginning of the battle, the city's population had taken refuge in the medina, and although there were still large amounts of food stored, these could not be cooked without water, preventing, for example, the manufacture of bread, so they ate mostly figs. The lack of water and food, combined with the intense heat, caused illnesses and deaths, whose victims filled the streets and houses, in a macabre scenario. As a way of relieving thirst, women and children chewed clay to moisten their mouths. Inside the castle there were also some Christian prisoners who, in order to receive their water ration, were forced to fight against their comrades. Despite these conditions, the Muslims remained determined to defend the city, even though their numbers were dwindling. In turn, the Christian forces were also on the verge of collapse, due to lack of food and fodder, resistance on the part of the besieged, and false rumors that Islamic troops from other cities were on the way, the siege continuing due to the determination by D. Afonso. Thus, they tried again to undermine the walls, but this attack was again stopped by the defenders. Terrified by the Christian attacks, and greatly weakened by thirst, the inhabitants of Silves ended up surrendering on 3 September.
The Christian troops then began their sacking, during which they massacred the inhabitants, despite the opposition of King D. Sancho I. Afterwards, the Crusaders continued their journey to the Holy Land, with the city practically abandoned, handed over to only a few soldiers. This military campaign also covered the castles of Albufeira and Alvor, with the conquest of Silves, as the capital of the Algarve, leading to the surrender of other fortresses in the region.
The siege of 1189 and the subsequent reconquest of Silves by Mohammedan forces was described by the Islamic historian Abdelwahid al-Marrakushi in his work História dos Almohads, whose account was translated by David Lopes as: «When the anno anno [sic] of 585 (J.C. 1188-1189) Peter son of Henry - cursed be he! - was against the town of Silves on the Andalus Peninsula. He surrounded it with his troops, and the Franges came to his aid by sea with galleys and albetoces. The conditions of this aid were that the prisoners taken would belong to them, and to him the city, and so it was agreed. So they attacked it by land and sea, taking its inhabitants captive and Henry's son - cursed be he! - became lord of the city. Then the emir of the believers made a great army ready, and with it he went beyond the sea with the firm intention of liberating the said city of Silves. He surrounded it, but the Christians, unable to defend it, abandoned it and withdrew from the region it dominated. As for the emir, he was only satisfied after having taken over one of his main fortresses named Torroxo; and then he returned to the city of Morocco». David Lopes also translated a more complete account of the reconquest of Silves by the Muslims, by the historian Ali ibn Alatir: «Anno de 586 (1189-1190 de J. C.). How the Christians took over Silves, and the Muslims once again became masters of it. In this year, the son of Henrique, one of the kings of western Andalus, became lord of the city of Silves, which is one of the largest Muslim cities in that country. When this was learned from the emir Abú Yosof Yacub son of Yosof son of Abdalmumen, sovereign of the Maghreb and Andalus, he made a great army and set out for Andalus, boarding at Alcacer Ceguér, while a part of the troops went by sea to Silves . When he arrived here, he camped next to it and surrounded it, putting the lords of the city in a tight spot. Then these were obliged to ask for mercy, which the emir granted them; and they handed over the city and returned to their own country”.
The first attempt by the Muslims to reconquer Silves began in the following year, by the Miramolim of Morocco, Abu Iúçufe Yacub Almançor, who tried unsuccessfully to surround the city. However, soon in 1191 it took over Silves, together with other towns in the south of the country, having managed to dominate most of the national territory south of the Tagus River. The city was again under Islamic control for about half a century, although the damage caused by military campaigns made Silves lose much of its importance, falling far short of the wealth it achieved during its golden years. As early as 1191, major works began on the walls, in order to reinforce them against Christian attacks, in a constructive campaign that lasted until the middle of the following century, with the new walls being built over the old Almoradive structures. It was during this intervention that the walls gained their definitive configuration.
13th century
In 1227 the Porta do Sol was built, on the east side of the city, a date that was marked by a commemorative tombstone discovered in the vicinity.
Silves was definitively taken by the Christians in 1249, during the reign of D. Afonso III, by forces of the Order of Santiago, led by D. Paio Peres Correia. the defenders were slaughtered. This battle was part of a military campaign in the region, having also freed the squares of Faro, Porches and Albufeira, ending the reconquest operations in national territory. Shortly after the city was taken, the defenses were rebuilt.
However, in the 1250s, a dispute began between the Portuguese and Castilians over possession of the Algarve, a situation that was only resolved with the Treaty of Badajoz, in 1267. Meanwhile, King Afonso III had already begun the process of repopulation. de Silves, since it had been practically deserted and in ruins after the reconquest, having in 1266 passed the letter of charter to the city. The monarch also based the government of the Arms of the Algarve there, where he remained until the reign of D. Afonso IV. Despite these measures, Silves continued to suffer from serious economic problems, largely caused by the decline in river navigation, due to the silting up of the Arade, and by the insecurity situation after the reconquest, which led to the abandonment of the cities. Even so, Silves was probably the most important and populous urban center in the region.
14th to 17th centuries
After the reconquest, the castle complex went through several stages of abandonment and works on its structures, including damage caused by several earthquakes, while the palace inside the citadel suffered a major fire already in Christian times. During the reign of D. Dinis (1279-1325) the City Gate was probably built. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the citadel was the subject of reconstruction works, promoted by D. Fernando (1367-1383), D. João I (1385-1433) and D. Afonso V (1438-1481), with interventions also taking place. during the reign of D. Manuel I (1495-1521). However, already at this stage the town was gradually losing importance, due to the silting up of the Arade River, and the growth of large cities along the coastline. One of the main elements that were changed after the reconquest was the Porta da Almedina. Despite these modifications, the structure of the castle remained essentially intact, with some sections of the wall still in their original configuration. In 1456, Infante D. Henrique became mayor of Silves, having received the rights on January 1 of the following year. The remains of a building southwest of the Praça de Armas were discovered, which may have been its mayor's office, and a sugar mill, from the 14th or 15th centuries, located nearby, and which is considered a very rare example of this period, having been linked to Infante, who was a major driver of sugar cultivation in the region and on the Atlantic islands. Around 1470, the national coat of arms was installed in the turret of Porta da Vila, from which King D. Sebastião watched a bullfight in 1573. In the 16th century, the castle was hit by two earthquakes, one in 1504 and the other in 1587.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the historian Henrique Fernandes Sarrão mentioned that some of the city walls had already fallen, while in the citadel the fence was rubble and some of the towers had already collapsed. In his report, written around 1607, he mentions that «The city walls are very high, and strong, and towered, and there is a castle on top, very fierce, and large, which has a door inside the city fence and another from the treachery, towards the north, from the outside and it is so full of rubble inside, that in part the rubble even rubs against the upper battlements, and from the outside the wall is very high, where it is located. fortissimo".
18th and 19th centuries
The castle was damaged by the earthquakes of 1719, 1722 and 1755, the last two of which were more devastating, especially in the citadel, which was probably rebuilt in that century.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the fortress still housed the general deposit of gunpowder in the Algarve, and served as a base for the local military barracks. However, in the 1830s it was already completely ruined, being used as an agricultural field, since after 1834 the municipality leased it to serve as a seedbed for barley and other cereals. In that year, the presence of the ruins of the tower that protected the Porta da Azóia, on the northwest side of the town fence, could still be seen.
While the citadel was almost completely devastated, the walls around Silves were still of great importance in the defense of the city during the 30s and 40s of the 19th century, due to the Liberal Wars and the situation of instability that followed. Indeed, after the official end of the war, groups of Miguelista guerrillas continued to operate, commanded by the famous Remexido, with Silves being one of the main targets due to its location, close to the mountains of the Algarve interior. These incursions caused damage to the walls, which were repaired between 1835 and 1836, with the works being paid for by the city's inhabitants. Although Remexido was shot on August 2, 1838, the guerrillas continued their operations, having on October 4, 1840, attacked a party at the Ermida de Nossa Senhora dos Mártires, on the outskirts of Silves. This incident left six dead and at least fourteen injured, and created a climate of insecurity among the local populations, who began to sleep inside the walls, where they felt protected. However, after the end of this conflict, the walls also entered a deep state of abandonment, with the closure and destruction of several elements, a situation that was accentuated with the earthquake of 1856. At the end of the century, part of the wall was demolished in order to improve access to the building. However, in 1840 the citadel was part of the inventory of national assets to be auctioned at public auction, having only been removed from the list due to protests by the mayor, José Manuel Serpa. About three years later, an ordinance handed over the management of the citadel to the City Council, which would also be responsible for its conservation. In about 1875, the jail and the jailer's residence were installed there.
Still in the 19th century, the castle was the subject of archaeological work by Estácio da Veiga, with a structure known as Cisterna dos Cães being identified. When it was cleared in 1872, several fragments of pottery from the Middle Ages were found, including Islamic buckets. Until the end of the century, the Torreão das Portas da Cidade was occupied by the Judicial Court and the premises of the City Council.
20th century
The castle was classified as a National Monument by a Decree of June 23, 1910, issued by the General Directorate of Public Works and Mines. Despite having been classified, the castle of Silves was still in a poor state of conservation, and in 1939 Abel Viana reported that the citadel was occupied by vegetable gardens and domestic animals, deposits of manure and gravel, with the chain still in operation at the time. with the prisoners locked in the towers. The walls of the enclosure were also in imminent ruin, very cracked and with large cavities at the bases, a situation that was made worse by the removal of stone from their foundations, for the construction of buildings.
In the 1940s, major restoration works were carried out on the fortress, financed as part of the Development Plans, and which included the consolidation of some elements, and the demolition and reconstruction of others, in addition to the destruction of several buildings along the walls, in the sense of to leave them unobstructed. Excavations were also carried out next to the main entrance and the parade ground, in order to lower and regularize the land, and repairs to the guardhouse, whose roofs were rebuilt. In the main square, cleaning works were also carried out on the cistern. All the towers and sections of the wall were subject to restoration work, with the keep reinforced and a tower and part of the wall, which were at imminent risk of ruin, having been rebuilt. The consolidation work on the towers also covered some corners and vaults, where reinforced concrete straps were applied. The battlements were also completely rebuilt, including the stonework steps and the battlements. However, these works led to the destruction of part of the ruins of the Almohad palace. In 1947 the jail was transferred to a location outside the city, and the following year the restoration work on the citadel was officially completed. In 1959, work began on a large part of the walls of Cerca da Vila, which lasted until 1966.
In 1965, a new work campaign began, with masonry structures being demolished and removed, and a building adjacent to a wall removed. In the following year, repair and reinforcement works continued, and in 1967 works were carried out to adapt one of the turrets to a municipal museum. In 1969, the castle was damaged by an earthquake, and consolidation work was carried out later that year. Between 1971 and 1973, a new work campaign took place, which included the recovery of the tower and part of the wall located next to the Town Hall, and the consolidation of the vestments into a turret. However, in 1972, the Almedina Tower was subject to works. In 1977 work was done to consolidate the walls, and in 1979 a corner was rebuilt, and repair work was carried out on the roof of a tower and the buildings inside the castle. Meanwhile, in June 1978, the Beer Festival was organized in the castle, an event that was part of the program of the Algarve Regional Tourism Commission. In the 1980s, restoration work on the walls focused mainly on the sections to the North, South and Southeast. In October 1980, an order was issued approving the classification of the Walls of Silves and Porta Almedina as a Property of Public Interest, and in that year the sections of the wall facing the west and north were also reinforced, while in 1981 they were consolidated. if two towers in the North zone. The following year, ashlar ashlars were laid on the corners of a turret, among other repair works, and in 1984 the ruins of a building next to the walls next to Rua Dr. Francisco Vieira, the walls were repaired and reinforced, and work continued on laying ashlar ashlars. Also in that year, a campaign of restoration work began on the castle, which lasted until 1987. Francisco Vieira.
In the 1980s, archaeological work began on a large scale in the castle, with excavations starting in 1982, focusing mainly on a cistern well next to a wall, and on the ruins of an albarrã tower that had recently been destroyed. Between 1985 and 1997, the castle was the target of several archaeological campaigns, coordinated by Rosa Varela Gomes, as part of a study program of the city's population up to the Middle Ages, confirming the time of the various built elements, and discovering an important booty set. Between 1986 and 1988 the Almohad occupation of the citadel was studied, in 1989 the excavations were extended to the Almohad and Almoravid houses, and in 1990 to a cistern inside the castle. Work resumed in 1992, and the following year the Islamic well-cistern inside the museum was cleared of rubble, and the structures for conducting water in the castle were excavated, including a cistern located inside the Almohad garden. In 1994, signs of occupation of the fortress in the 13th and 14th centuries were found, after the Christian reconquest, electromagnetic soundings were carried out, and studies continued on the cisterns and water reservoirs. In 1995, a set of Almohad baths was identified, which was the first of this period to be found in the national territory, also highlighting the discovery of a lead insignia of an English order of chivalry. In 1996, the excavations in the former Almohad palatine area were expanded, and some structures already discovered were reconstructed and consolidated, with a view to making them a museum. These works continued in 1997, and in that year the Cisterna dos Cães was also excavated. ceramic pieces.
Meanwhile, in 1993 restoration work was carried out on the castle, ending the cycle of works coordinated by the Directorate-General for National Buildings and Monuments, which had begun about half a century ago. In December 1995, Council of Ministers Resolution No. 161/95 was published, which ratified the Silves Municipal Master Plan, where the walls and Porta Almedina were classified as Municipal Value. In 2000, the City Council began rebuilding the corners of the Tower of Almedina, and carried out major rehabilitation works on the fortress, which included repairing roofs, restoring the painted ceilings of the Alcáçova, by the Centro de Estudos de Arte e Arqueologia de To take. A program was also started to make the spaces inside the citadel museum-friendly, which included the reuse of old buildings for educational purposes, and the installation of a botanical garden linked to the theme of the Portuguese Discoveries, in the area of the former Governor's backyard.
XXI century
In 2001, excavations were carried out in the place where the Municipal Library would be built, and traces of an outer wall surrounding the town, and of several residential and commercial buildings, were found. In 2002, work continued on rebuilding the cornerstones in Torre da Almedina, which had been removed to facilitate car traffic, and in 2003 restoration work was carried out, which included the consolidation and reconstruction of the ruins inside, and the conservation of the cistern. That year, conditions for visiting the fortress were also improved, through the installation of walkways, water and sewage infrastructure, toilets and a cafeteria. An effort was also made to complement the historical aspect with exhibitions and other events inside, including the exhibition On the way to the Iberian lynx. In 2005, a cleaning intervention was carried out on the outside of the castle.
In March 2005, the Directorate-General for National Buildings and Monuments drew up a Risk Charter for the main entrance to the castle wall. In September, the Faro delegation of the Portuguese Institute of Architectural Heritage made a new proposal for the opening of the procedure for classifying the walls and Porta Almedina, since the previous process was lost, and the reopening of the file was carried out by an order on the 20th of December of that year. On the 9th of May 2006, the Faro IPPAR delegation made a proposal for the classification, and on the 12th of June of that year for the special protection zone of those properties. On the 12th of June 2008, he proposed the expansion of the special protection zone of the castle, in order to cover the Porta da Almedina and the remains of the walls, and on the 1st of October of that year the executive board of the Institute of Architectural Heritage Management and Arqueológico published an opinion, in which it approved the special protection zone for those properties, and proposed their classification as a National Monument. Announcement n.º 15560/2011, of October 27th, disclosed the intention, on the part of IGESPAR, to propose the classification as a National Monument, and the delimitation of the special protection zone, the classification having been determined by Decree n.º 31-C/2012, of 31 December, In this way, the previous protected area was complemented, which was limited only to the citadel and a contiguous part of the old walls.
Meanwhile, between 2003 and 2007, excavations continued in the castle area, within the scope of the Silves POLIS programme, coordinated by Rosa Varela Gomes, highlighting the discovery, on the northern side, of a Visigothic place of worship. In 2006, during work on the installation of a tea house, evidence was found of a building next to the walls, southwest of the Praça de Armas, which may have been the home of Infante D. Henrique. This important discovery, together with the commemorations of the appointment of the Infante as Mayor of Silves, was the motto for the organization, in December 2007, of the conference O Infante D. Henrique – Mayor of Silves (1457) – Commemorations of the 550 Years. Interviewed by the newspaper Barlavento, archaeologist Rosa Varela Gomes criticized the way in which neither the POLIS program in Silves nor the municipality had «money to make this area of the Castle a museum», having added that «it would be necessary to find funding to continue the investigations, perhaps through cultural patronage, because they are very important testimonies of a fundamental period for the Algarve and about which, in Silves, very little is known». He also stated that «when talking about the Expansion, we are talking about Lagos, where the caravels left. But the genesis of the Expansion was in Silves, which was the center of power in the Algarve».
In August 2015, the west area of the castle was the subject of archaeological work, directed by Mário and Rosa Varela Gomes, from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, with the cooperation of the Municipality of Silves. This place was identified as the possible Alcaidaria of Infante D. Henrique, also highlighting the finding of a sugar mill, dating from the 14th or 15th centuries. That year, the municipality carried out restoration work on the walkway around the citadel. In 2016, stucco fragments located beneath the ruins of the Almohad palace were studied, elements considered rare in the national territory, and belonging to arches decorated with reliefs, incisions and paintings, and to walls decorated with geometric, epigraphic, and phytomorphic motifs. Some elements from the battle of 1189 were also discovered. In October 2017, the third phase of archaeological excavations in the historic center began, with several discoveries of interest being made, including a flagstone pavement next to the Porta da Cidade, also known as Almedina Gate. Seven coins were found under this pavement, probably from the period between the reigns of Afonso Henriques and D. Dinis, a discovery that reinforced the theory that the Porta da Cidade had been built after the definitive reconquest, and not during the Islamic era, as previously thought. In 2019 the castle was awarded a Five Star award, in the category of National Monuments, and that year the surrounding area was the subject of a restoration intervention. In May 2021, the municipality began conservation and restoration works on tower 4, as part of a program to restore and refurbish the remains of the old almedina wall.
Versão portuguesa aqui.
GPS 37.19114446275147, -8.438018266331897
The Castle of Silves is a military monument located in the city, parish and municipality of Silves, in the district of Faro, in the Algarve, in Portugal. The set of defensive structures in Silves consisted of two elements: an outer wall that protected part of the city, forming a medina, and the fortress inside, known as the alcáçova, located at the highest point of the hill. The citadel is the largest structure of its kind in the Algarve, and one of the most important monuments in the region, and is also considered the finest example of Islamic military architecture in the country.
The outer defenses were built in the early years of Islamic occupation, in the 8th century, in the early years of Muslim rule over the region, having reached its peak in the 11th century, when Silves became the capital of a taifa, a type of kingdom autonomous. The citadel was probably built much later, during the Almohad Caliphate (1121 - 1269). However, both the city and the castle itself fell into decline after being first taken over by Christian forces in 1189. It was retaken by the Muslims only about a year and a half later, in 1191, but the destruction caused by military campaigns prevented the its rebirth. Even so, the castle was later subject to major works in the 12th and 13th centuries. Silves was definitively reconquered in 1249, but continued in frank regression, mainly due to the silting up of the Arade River, despite the crown's various attempts to encourage its development. In the 15th century, Infante D. Henrique stayed in Silves as mayor. The castle itself was classified as a National Monument in 1910, while the city walls and Porta Almedina were also protected as a National Monument in 2012. In the 1940s, the citadel underwent major restoration work by the government, with most of the walls and towers being reinforced or rebuilt.
Description
Importance and location
Silves Castle is considered one of the most important fortifications from the Muslim era in the country. It is one of the main monuments in the region, and the most important from a tourist point of view in the municipality of Silves, having received more than 200 thousand visitors in 2014. Both the citadel and the remains of the village fence, including its old entrance known as Porta da Almedina, were classified as a National Monument.
It is located in the city of Silves, on a small hill near the right bank of the River Arade, in a place that allowed control of the entire surrounding region, especially river navigation on the River Arade. From the citadel you can see the city of Portimão and the Serra de Monchique. From a geographical point of view, this area is located in the transition between the Algarve's Barrocal and the Baixo Alentejo region. The urban area develops along the east, south and west slopes. Dwellings defined steep and irregular streets that stretched to the Arade River. It was built on the east end of the top of a hill with a maximum elevation of 56 m, next to the right bank of this river, where the houses were intersected by steep and irregular streets. On the north and east sides of the aforementioned elevation, the slopes, very steep, provided good natural defense conditions.
Composition
The set of defenses for Silves was mainly made up of the citadel, located at the highest point of the hill, and the town fence, formed by a belt of walls around the city that originally enclosed an area of around 9.75 to 12 hectares. . These external walls almost completely surrounded the village, forming a medina. There was also a third set of walls, of secondary importance, which protected some parts of the city not surrounded by the village fence, and the cuiraça, a wall that reached the banks of the river. Both the citadel and the village fence were laid out in such a way as to better adapt to the terrain, following the contour lines, with the stretches on the north and east sides at a higher level, while the south and west sections were installed at half slope. These structures fit the typology of fortresses from the Umayyad period, having several elements in common with buildings from the same period of Syrian-Palestinian construction.
The defenses of Silves, as they appeared before the military campaign of 1189, were described in this way by Alexandre Herculano: «The line of fortifications encompassed all the buildings in the village, which contained no less than twenty to thirty thousand souls. The outskirts were surrounded by an extensive wall, to which the Medina and Kassba were linked in a way by the armor and by a covered road, which, going down the slope, came to enter the Albarran Tower, which, together with the lower city, guarded the campaign. This tower served not so much as a defense for the point where it was located, as for the medina; because with the shots fired from it, those who approached the walls of the upper city would be wounded in the back. The armor that went down to the side of the river Drade, [sic] defended by four towers, offered safe passage for those who lived in the medina and in the kassba to go down to provide themselves with water, which was scarce there and which was plentiful in a well located in the end of that fortification. All these lines of walls were crowned with towers, so close together that a stone thrown from any one of them, save the immediate one, would strike the next one; and even in the more exposed or weaker places the distance from one to the other was reduced by half. Finally, the entrances to the gates were tortuous in such a way, forming successive angles, that it would be easier to cross the walls at the visible scale than to penetrate through them».
Alcáçova
The citadel has an irregular polygon-shaped plan, and has eleven quadrangular towers, with corners reinforced in masonry. Two of the towers are albarrãs and nine are adossed, and are composed of a high keep, three turrets and seven squares, with battlements, connected by a curtain of walls with a darve, topped by battlements with arrow slits, occupying a flat area. The towers are connected to the round path, about 388 m long. Some of the towers still feature elements that were introduced during the major restoration works in the 14th and 15th centuries, such as doors with Gothic arches, broken back, and vaulted rooms. The citadel was built with a massive device in military rammed earth. Access is via a double door with an atrium, protected by two towers, next to which the reception and a shop for visitors have been installed. Next to this entrance is a bronze statue of King D. Sancho I, who conquered the castle of Silves for the first time. On the northern side of the citadel there is a secondary entrance, the Porta da Traição, which made it possible to cross the outer walls in a more discreet way, thus guaranteeing greater autonomy of the citadel in relation to the city itself.
In terms of green spaces, a reconstruction was made of what the gardens of the Palácio das Varandas would look like, with a Muslim ambience, with several different species planted, such as pepper trees, pomegranates, oleanders, orange trees, lemon trees, fig trees, rosemary, blueberries, mint, rose trees and sugar canes. The original gardens were fed by canals, passing underneath the contemporary building where the tea house was installed. At another point in the citadel, next to the ruins, there is a large linden tree, which predates the reconstruction works and is considered one of the symbols of the monument.
Evocation of Silves, by Al-Mutamid Greetings to Silves, Abu Becre Friend The places so dear to me From my unforgettable youth. Ask them if they still remember me... He salutes especially Xaradjibe, This beautiful Palácio das Varandas... Tell him that a knight lives far away Who dies little by little to see him again. In him lived, strong and daring, Warriors that in my eyes looked like Lions with wild manes... And restless and beautiful women, How white gazelles in the sunset... How I remember the surrounding jungles And the matchless poetry of its corners...
Adaptation of Guerra Roque, from a Spanish translation by Garcia Gomez
Palace of the Balconies
Inside the citadel, the remains of a building were found, which probably corresponded to a two-story palace-fortress, rectangular in plan and covering an area of 320 m². The compartments inside included rooms and alcoves, courtyards, two housing units, private areas for bathing in an Umayyad configuration, and various interior gardens, one of which is porticoed and has an upper gallery. Also noteworthy are the coverings on the floors, in marble and tiles, and on the walls and arches, in addition to the profuse details of the stucco, which attest to the wealth that the palace achieved. It was known as Palácio Almóada or Palácio das Varandas, the name by which it appears in a poem by Al-Mutamid about Silves. This building is of great importance, as it is the only known Islamic palace in the country, in addition to the fact that no traces of other palatine residences of this type have been found in the westernmost region of Gharb al-ʼAndalus. Later, in the part identified as the palace, an arch was reconstituted, in white materials, in order to contrast with the surrounding ruins.
In the article O "Xarajibe" by Silves in poetry, art and history, published in the journal Atlântico: revista luso-brasileira in 1947, historian José Garcia Domingues refers that «the palace of Xarajibe, by Silves, was, in the West, an authentic vision of the «One Thousand and One Nights»», adding that «poets sang about it with the highest refinement, artists adorned it with works of strange craftsmanship, historians celebrated it as a charming princely residence», and that «to evoke Xarajibe is to evoke [...] the time and lifestyle of the Luso-Arabs». According to Garcia Domingues, the poem by Al-Mutamid may be the oldest reference to the palace, having been the only one known until the publication of the work Scriptorum Arabum loci de Abbaditis, by the Dutch researcher Reinhart Dozy (1820-1883), where the your description. In another work by Reinhart Dozy, Historia Abbadidarum, the palace and the city of Silves are mentioned again, made by the historian Ibn Khaqan (es), allegedly based on a report by the son of Al-Mutamid, Al-Motaze: «This palace of Xarajib then he had reached the highest peak of magnificence and splendor. It was similar to the most famous one in the city of Baghdad, Iraq. The noble horses of his courts ran in him and the lightning flashed on his terraces of the things that could be most desired and he offered. Fortune, truly obedient, radiated from him, from the moment he began the morning journey until the end of the afternoon journey, that is, on those days when the talismans that constituted his security were not removed from that palace. And the palace was not even lacking for chalices with the flowers of youth. This city had him as the place where it happily lived its multiple hopes and as the highest of its riches. To which was added the beauty of the panorama, the fragrance of perfumes and breezes, and the cheerful, luxuriant arrangement of the gardens and tufts of trees. Furthermore, this city was almost surrounded by its two rivers like a necklace, in the same way and in the same place where a man usually wears a belt». This narrative is of great interest not only because it describes the palace and the city, but because it mentions that Silves was surrounded by two rivers, one of which has disappeared. Garcia Domingues speculated that this watercourse originated in the Encherim area, north of Silves and had its mouth in Porto da Azóia, where the Garden of Nossa Senhora dos Mártires was later installed. It is mentioned that the city was not completely surrounded by rivers, perhaps a reference to the way in which the river was almost always dry in its central part, allowing its passage through large stone banks, which according to several witnesses were still visible in the XIX century. Another prominent Islamic historian who made reference to the Palácio das Varandas was Ibne Anmar.
Cisterns and mayor
Inside the citadel there were also three cisterns, one of which stands out due to its large dimensions, which corresponds to a aljibe (es), popularly known as the Moorish cistern. This space has a rectangular plan, 20 m long by 16 m wide, and a height of 7 m. the walls. It was supplied by rainwater, channeled through the vaults, and had an approximate capacity of 1300000 liters, with an estimated autonomy of up to one year. It was responsible for guaranteeing the water supply to a large part of the city, having performed this function until the 1990s. As part of the fortress' musealization program, the aljibe was converted into an exhibition space. According to researcher Ataíde Oliveira, the largest cistern was linked to one of the legends of enchanted moors that emerged in the region, in which, at midnight on St. along her journey, she sings beautiful songs, lamenting her death, and waiting for a prince to appear to say the magic words to disenchant her. Ataíde Oliveira added that, according to popular tradition, those who sought to be scholars in matters related to witchcraft should visit the Moorish cistern three times a year. He also related a story linked to this legend, according to which a woman knocked on the door of the house where the jailer of Silves lived, and it was explained to her that he was absent, but that her son was “taking his place”. The woman then asked her son to go with her to the cistern, and when he refused, he left immediately. At another point in the citadel is the Cisterna dos Cães, which formed a large well over 40 m deep, the first 15 m below the surface being rectangular in shape, and then sub-circular. This structure was connected to a reservoir. According to popular tradition, its name comes from treasure hunters having released dogs here to discover Islamic treasures abandoned in the underground areas of the citadel, but the animals did not return. Another popular explanation for this name is that it would be the place where stray dogs were thrown. According to Alexandre Herculano, these cisterns were necessary due to the lack of water inside the citadel and the medina. Several silos were found nearby, where the cereals that were paid as tribute by the farmers were kept, and whose location in the basement, where the temperatures were lower, allowed a better conservation of the cereals.
In the southwest area of the citadel are the ruins of the mayor's office and a sugar mill, elements that may be linked to the presence of Infante D. Henrique, who was mayor of Silves. According to archaeologist Rosa Varela Gomes, in the area identified as the mayor's office, the remains of four compartments were discovered, an ogival door, stairs leading to a first floor that has since disappeared, and a set of items "contemporary to Infante D. Henrique". In fact, various materials from the 14th and 15th centuries were discovered here, including ceramic pieces, coins and buckles.
Village fence and secondary walls
The walls of the village fence were about 2.80 m thick, having been built in a strong device in military rammed earth, composed of clay, gravel, sand and lime, and coated with sandstone in red tones, known as Silves sandstone. They were defended by a barbican, a type of wall of great thickness, also built in rammed earth, and which was located adjacent to the outer walls, in order to protect its base from enemy artillery. This defensive set originally had seventeen towers, seven of which were adjacent to the wall, while the other ten were albarrãs, that is, located outside the structure of the wall, to which they were connected by a walkway over an arch.
It had three gates, all protected by albarrã towers: that of Azóia (Bab-al-Zauiâ) on the northwest side, and which was protected by at least one tower, with eight corners, that of the Sun (Bab-al-Sârus) on the side east, and that of Almedina (Bab-al-Balad), also known as Porta de Loulé, which constituted a massive structure, defended by two albarrã towers, and which formed an elbow. The Porta da Almedina, located in the vicinity of the Town Hall, is the only one of which physical remains remain, located about 60 m, westward from the Porta da Cidade, which was built after the final reconquest. The Porta da Cidade is part of an old albarrã tower, built in sandstone, and whose entrance also formed an elbow, a configuration that was intended to make access difficult for invaders, and which was widely used in Almohad constructions. It gave access to the main road in the city, Rua da Sé, originally known as Rua Direita, and which during the Islamic period connected to the citadel and the Greater Mosque. In the opposite direction, the road descended to the Rio Arade. Originally, it was believed that the City Gate was of Islamic chronology, but excavations carried out in 2017 indicated that the structure could be much later, already from Christian times. In fact, in front of the Porta da Cidade, a flagstone pavement was discovered, made up of large blocks of Silves sandstone, which would form part of a street. Underneath, various archaeological materials were found, including seven coins belonging to the reigns of D. Afonso III and D. Dinis, which indicates that both the promenade and the City Gate could have been built in the 14th century. Due to its heritage value, it was dismantled and then integrated into the street pavement.
The final organization of the outer enclosure would have been received during the reign of Al-Mutamid, in the 12th century, although the elements themselves would have been built shortly before the definitive reconquest. Much of the village fence has already disappeared, with some parts having been demolished as part of the village development and expansion process. For example, a section was demolished to create a new access to the Town Hall building. The surviving sections of the walls are found between the village's houses, next to the streets of Porta da Azóia, Gregório Nunes Mascarenhas Neto, and Nova da Boavista, while another part, along Rua da Porta de Loulé, was integrated into the archaeological museum.
Outside this enclosure was a third set of walls, of lesser importance, which protected the urban areas that grew beyond the village fence, on its eastern side. These areas were known as rabal, which gave rise to the term arrabalde, being a point of concentration of certain industries that could not operate in residential areas, such as tanneries, due to the unpleasant smell they generated. One of these spaces was located on the site of the modern building of the Municipal Library, as evidence of these industries and the secondary walls, which at one point reached more than two meters in height, were found here. Finally, there was the cuiraça, a kind of fortified path that joined the main walls to the banks of the river, thus allowing the city to supply water.
According to Decree n.º 31-C/2012, which classified the walls and the Porta da Almedina, these elements constituted a fundamental part of the old defensive complex of the city, as a complement to the citadel, in addition to being an important testimony of the its urban organization over a very long period, from Roman times to the Modern Age, mainly during Islamic rule. They are also of great importance from the point of view of military architecture, due to the presence of various structures to reinforce the walls, such as the albarrã towers, the cuirasses and the elbow doors, and the materials that were used, mainly the military rammed earth, used only by the Maghreb lineages, and which distinguish it from most other wall systems, built in stone masonry.
Estate
In the area of the citadel and the city walls, a rich set of materials was discovered, which testifies to a long occupation of the site, from the 8th century to the Modern Age. The estate includes ceramic pieces, such as ceramic containers, produced both locally and regionally, as well as glazed and enamelled. In terms of origin, some pieces were of local and regional production, while a significant set came from other parts of the Iberian peninsula, mainly Murcia, Tunisia and Iran. Metallic pieces, such as coins, were also collected, in addition to various artifacts of a military function, such as arrowheads and crossbow bolts.
History
Background
The hill where the fortress is located may have been originally occupied by a castro of the Lusitanian peoples, which would have had connections with the Greek, Phoenician and Carthaginian peoples. This town was taken over by the Romans around 201 BC, which made it an important commercial and military hub. The village was later inhabited during the Visigoth period, as can be seen by the discovery of a religious building from the 6th or 7th century, in the north area of the castle.
Muslim era
Silves was conquered by the Moors in 716, having started to reinforce the defenses in the first years, with the installation of outer walls, greatly expanding the old Roman fortress. Indeed, both the walls and the castle itself have a common typology with other fortresses that were built at the time of the Umayyad Caliphate, between the 8th and 9th centuries, and having several elements similar to those found in Syrian-Palestinian buildings of the same period. Another vestige of the Umayyad period are the baths that were part of the palace, inside the citadel. The outer walls already existed in the 10th century, and in that century the historian Al-Razi mentions that Silves was the best village in the Algarve, and that it had a castle.
and they were subject to works until the 11th century, when the Islamic city of Silves reached its greatest importance, having become the capital of a taifa, under the command of Al-Mutamid. Important works were then carried out on the castle complex during the Almoravid period and later during the Almohad era, between the 12th and 13th centuries, of which some elements still remain inside the palace, such as the residential areas and the garden. The residential structures inside the citadel were probably inhabited until the reconquest.
In this way, the castle was an important nucleus in the Algarve region during medieval Islamic times, both from a military and residential point of view, which allowed to control an important point in the region, mainly the Arade River, which was navigable. The importance of Silves and its castle was recorded by Alexandre Herculano in his work Historia de Portugal, in the description of the conquest of the city: «the city boasted its vast and superb perspective in the eyes of the crusaders, who saw for the first time Muslim capital. Silves was one of the most important towns on the Peninsula. The almedina or ancient city, crowned by its kassba or castle, took the crown of a hill, at whose root a plain extended along the right bank of the river, on which the largest part of the village was settled, the suburb that in itself represented a large city. Compared with Lisbon, Silves was much stronger, and in opulence and sumptuousness of buildings ten times more remarkable. [...] Such circumstances and others that resulted from its situation made that city one of the most important places in Muslim Spain».
Even in the 10th century, the city was already expanding beyond the limits of the medina, since the remains of a wall and of residential and commercial buildings from this period were found under the Municipal Library building, in an area outside the fence of the village.
In 1160, the city was conquered and sacked by the forces of Fernando Magno, although it was retaken by the Muslims shortly afterwards. In 1173 and 1189, major remodeling works were carried out on the walls that protected the medina.
Christian reconquest
Campaign of 1189 The first military campaign with a view to conquering Silves began in 1189, by King D. Sancho I (1185-1211), with a view to dominating that city and the region of Chenchir, of which it was the capital, in addition to it was believed that the fall of Silves would lead to the surrender of other villages and castles of lesser importance. However, the monarch came to the conclusion that the city was too well defended to be attacked by his forces alone, with Alexandre Herculano explaining that «the Portuguese not only considered it as one of the most difficult places to attack, but also as the main focus of resistance to Christian conquest. In fact, the traces that still remain of its ancient walls, and the contemporary memories that describe it, indicate well what were, in relation to the tactics of that time, the difficulties that it would offer to those who tried to reduce it to force». Thus, he followed the example of his father, D. Afonso Henriques, who had used foreign mercenaries during the Siege of Lisbon. This decision was also motivated by a recent attack by the Portuguese and crusaders in the Algarve region, who had successfully attacked the Islamic castle of Alvor. Thus, that summer he hired an army of Nordic crusaders, who were then sailing along the Portuguese coast towards the Holy Land, to help him capture Silves, being paid with the sack of the city. According to Alexandre Herculano, this army consisted of three thousand five hundred men-at-arms, in thirty-six ships. This expedition had started in Germany and Flanders during the spring of 1189, having arrived in Lisbon in the first days of July of that year. The crusaders were of Flemish, Germanic, British and Danish nationality, with Herculaneum referring that the German contingent was led by Louis, Landegrave of Thuringia, while other leaders of the expedition included Henry, Count of Bar and Airard or Ailrad, Count of Braine. The fleet left the Tagus River on the 16th of July of that year, and just four days later began to sail up the Arade River.
The attack on the city was described by Alexandre Herculano, who quoted a document left by an anonymous crusader, having started with the landing of the crusaders, possibly on the islet of Senhora do Rosário, where they met with troops who had come by land. Before attacking the city itself, the crusaders looted and burned several nearby villages, which had been abandoned by the inhabitants, but two soldiers were killed by Moorish Almogavars. They then returned to the ships and continued up the Arade to Silves.
The assault began with the climb of the first line of walls, using ladders, which was successful, although most of the defenders managed to escape to the medina, since their light equipment allowed them to escape faster than than the heavy armor of Christians. The defenses of the almedina were much more resistant, being surrounded by deep and steep ditches, making it difficult to install stairs, in addition to the fact that Islamic soldiers constantly launched projectiles from the top of the walls, despite the Christians being protected by crossbowmen and archers. The crusaders thus withdrew to their camp, and the Muslims took advantage of this to recover the lower city. On their retreat, the Christians tried to set fire to the city's buildings, but with little result, as Islamic building systems were fire resistant. There was then a pause in the fighting, during which siege engines were prepared, and more reinforcements arrived, with King D. Sancho arriving on the 29th of July. It was during this phase that an incident occurred, which provoked a lively revolt among the besiegers: during the first assault, English soldiers had killed a priest or other important person inside a mosque, something that was considered sacrilegious by the Muslims, which they responded by hanging three Christians from the battlements of an albarrã tower, then killing them with spear blows. The Christians then tried to destroy the walls with a siege machine known as a hedgehog, a kind of battering ram, but this attempt also failed. By order of the king, two catapults were prepared, which were much more successful, and began to undermine the outer walls, especially the section known as cuiraça, since this defended the city's water supply. Indeed, a deserter had informed the monarch that if the breastplate was taken, the city would certainly surrender. Thus, the attacks were resumed, with a tower and part of a battleship wall being destroyed. The Muslims rushed to defend the breach, but were eventually defeated, so they abandoned the three still intact towers of the cuirass and took refuge again in the medina.
Having reconquered the lower city, Christian troops blocked the well that was used by the Muslims, and which was defended by the cuirass, thus cutting off the water supply to the city. They then began to open mines in order to destroy the walls of the medina, digging under the houses, in order to hide their manoeuvres. However, the defenders noticed this operation and launched a sortie the next morning, setting fire to the houses on which mines were being excavated, with the fire spreading to the tunnels' woodwork, destroying them. The Flemish troops tried a new strategy, to demolish one of the city walls that had communication with the defenses of the medina, but it also ended up being thwarted by the besieged. However, almost daily there were Muslim soldiers surrendering to the Christians, and it was found that this was mainly due to the lack of water in the upper city, since the cisterns and wells had their reserves almost empty, in addition to the fact that the water was brackish. In fact, since the beginning of the battle, the city's population had taken refuge in the medina, and although there were still large amounts of food stored, these could not be cooked without water, preventing, for example, the manufacture of bread, so they ate mostly figs. The lack of water and food, combined with the intense heat, caused illnesses and deaths, whose victims filled the streets and houses, in a macabre scenario. As a way of relieving thirst, women and children chewed clay to moisten their mouths. Inside the castle there were also some Christian prisoners who, in order to receive their water ration, were forced to fight against their comrades. Despite these conditions, the Muslims remained determined to defend the city, even though their numbers were dwindling. In turn, the Christian forces were also on the verge of collapse, due to lack of food and fodder, resistance on the part of the besieged, and false rumors that Islamic troops from other cities were on the way, the siege continuing due to the determination by D. Afonso. Thus, they tried again to undermine the walls, but this attack was again stopped by the defenders. Terrified by the Christian attacks, and greatly weakened by thirst, the inhabitants of Silves ended up surrendering on 3 September.
The Christian troops then began their sacking, during which they massacred the inhabitants, despite the opposition of King D. Sancho I. Afterwards, the Crusaders continued their journey to the Holy Land, with the city practically abandoned, handed over to only a few soldiers. This military campaign also covered the castles of Albufeira and Alvor, with the conquest of Silves, as the capital of the Algarve, leading to the surrender of other fortresses in the region.
The siege of 1189 and the subsequent reconquest of Silves by Mohammedan forces was described by the Islamic historian Abdelwahid al-Marrakushi in his work História dos Almohads, whose account was translated by David Lopes as: «When the anno anno [sic] of 585 (J.C. 1188-1189) Peter son of Henry - cursed be he! - was against the town of Silves on the Andalus Peninsula. He surrounded it with his troops, and the Franges came to his aid by sea with galleys and albetoces. The conditions of this aid were that the prisoners taken would belong to them, and to him the city, and so it was agreed. So they attacked it by land and sea, taking its inhabitants captive and Henry's son - cursed be he! - became lord of the city. Then the emir of the believers made a great army ready, and with it he went beyond the sea with the firm intention of liberating the said city of Silves. He surrounded it, but the Christians, unable to defend it, abandoned it and withdrew from the region it dominated. As for the emir, he was only satisfied after having taken over one of his main fortresses named Torroxo; and then he returned to the city of Morocco». David Lopes also translated a more complete account of the reconquest of Silves by the Muslims, by the historian Ali ibn Alatir: «Anno de 586 (1189-1190 de J. C.). How the Christians took over Silves, and the Muslims once again became masters of it. In this year, the son of Henrique, one of the kings of western Andalus, became lord of the city of Silves, which is one of the largest Muslim cities in that country. When this was learned from the emir Abú Yosof Yacub son of Yosof son of Abdalmumen, sovereign of the Maghreb and Andalus, he made a great army and set out for Andalus, boarding at Alcacer Ceguér, while a part of the troops went by sea to Silves . When he arrived here, he camped next to it and surrounded it, putting the lords of the city in a tight spot. Then these were obliged to ask for mercy, which the emir granted them; and they handed over the city and returned to their own country”.
The first attempt by the Muslims to reconquer Silves began in the following year, by the Miramolim of Morocco, Abu Iúçufe Yacub Almançor, who tried unsuccessfully to surround the city. However, soon in 1191 it took over Silves, together with other towns in the south of the country, having managed to dominate most of the national territory south of the Tagus River. The city was again under Islamic control for about half a century, although the damage caused by military campaigns made Silves lose much of its importance, falling far short of the wealth it achieved during its golden years. As early as 1191, major works began on the walls, in order to reinforce them against Christian attacks, in a constructive campaign that lasted until the middle of the following century, with the new walls being built over the old Almoradive structures. It was during this intervention that the walls gained their definitive configuration.
13th century
In 1227 the Porta do Sol was built, on the east side of the city, a date that was marked by a commemorative tombstone discovered in the vicinity.
Silves was definitively taken by the Christians in 1249, during the reign of D. Afonso III, by forces of the Order of Santiago, led by D. Paio Peres Correia. the defenders were slaughtered. This battle was part of a military campaign in the region, having also freed the squares of Faro, Porches and Albufeira, ending the reconquest operations in national territory. Shortly after the city was taken, the defenses were rebuilt.
However, in the 1250s, a dispute began between the Portuguese and Castilians over possession of the Algarve, a situation that was only resolved with the Treaty of Badajoz, in 1267. Meanwhile, King Afonso III had already begun the process of repopulation. de Silves, since it had been practically deserted and in ruins after the reconquest, having in 1266 passed the letter of charter to the city. The monarch also based the government of the Arms of the Algarve there, where he remained until the reign of D. Afonso IV. Despite these measures, Silves continued to suffer from serious economic problems, largely caused by the decline in river navigation, due to the silting up of the Arade, and by the insecurity situation after the reconquest, which led to the abandonment of the cities. Even so, Silves was probably the most important and populous urban center in the region.
14th to 17th centuries
After the reconquest, the castle complex went through several stages of abandonment and works on its structures, including damage caused by several earthquakes, while the palace inside the citadel suffered a major fire already in Christian times. During the reign of D. Dinis (1279-1325) the City Gate was probably built. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the citadel was the subject of reconstruction works, promoted by D. Fernando (1367-1383), D. João I (1385-1433) and D. Afonso V (1438-1481), with interventions also taking place. during the reign of D. Manuel I (1495-1521). However, already at this stage the town was gradually losing importance, due to the silting up of the Arade River, and the growth of large cities along the coastline. One of the main elements that were changed after the reconquest was the Porta da Almedina. Despite these modifications, the structure of the castle remained essentially intact, with some sections of the wall still in their original configuration. In 1456, Infante D. Henrique became mayor of Silves, having received the rights on January 1 of the following year. The remains of a building southwest of the Praça de Armas were discovered, which may have been its mayor's office, and a sugar mill, from the 14th or 15th centuries, located nearby, and which is considered a very rare example of this period, having been linked to Infante, who was a major driver of sugar cultivation in the region and on the Atlantic islands. Around 1470, the national coat of arms was installed in the turret of Porta da Vila, from which King D. Sebastião watched a bullfight in 1573. In the 16th century, the castle was hit by two earthquakes, one in 1504 and the other in 1587.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the historian Henrique Fernandes Sarrão mentioned that some of the city walls had already fallen, while in the citadel the fence was rubble and some of the towers had already collapsed. In his report, written around 1607, he mentions that «The city walls are very high, and strong, and towered, and there is a castle on top, very fierce, and large, which has a door inside the city fence and another from the treachery, towards the north, from the outside and it is so full of rubble inside, that in part the rubble even rubs against the upper battlements, and from the outside the wall is very high, where it is located. fortissimo".
18th and 19th centuries
The castle was damaged by the earthquakes of 1719, 1722 and 1755, the last two of which were more devastating, especially in the citadel, which was probably rebuilt in that century.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the fortress still housed the general deposit of gunpowder in the Algarve, and served as a base for the local military barracks. However, in the 1830s it was already completely ruined, being used as an agricultural field, since after 1834 the municipality leased it to serve as a seedbed for barley and other cereals. In that year, the presence of the ruins of the tower that protected the Porta da Azóia, on the northwest side of the town fence, could still be seen.
While the citadel was almost completely devastated, the walls around Silves were still of great importance in the defense of the city during the 30s and 40s of the 19th century, due to the Liberal Wars and the situation of instability that followed. Indeed, after the official end of the war, groups of Miguelista guerrillas continued to operate, commanded by the famous Remexido, with Silves being one of the main targets due to its location, close to the mountains of the Algarve interior. These incursions caused damage to the walls, which were repaired between 1835 and 1836, with the works being paid for by the city's inhabitants. Although Remexido was shot on August 2, 1838, the guerrillas continued their operations, having on October 4, 1840, attacked a party at the Ermida de Nossa Senhora dos Mártires, on the outskirts of Silves. This incident left six dead and at least fourteen injured, and created a climate of insecurity among the local populations, who began to sleep inside the walls, where they felt protected. However, after the end of this conflict, the walls also entered a deep state of abandonment, with the closure and destruction of several elements, a situation that was accentuated with the earthquake of 1856. At the end of the century, part of the wall was demolished in order to improve access to the building. However, in 1840 the citadel was part of the inventory of national assets to be auctioned at public auction, having only been removed from the list due to protests by the mayor, José Manuel Serpa. About three years later, an ordinance handed over the management of the citadel to the City Council, which would also be responsible for its conservation. In about 1875, the jail and the jailer's residence were installed there.
Still in the 19th century, the castle was the subject of archaeological work by Estácio da Veiga, with a structure known as Cisterna dos Cães being identified. When it was cleared in 1872, several fragments of pottery from the Middle Ages were found, including Islamic buckets. Until the end of the century, the Torreão das Portas da Cidade was occupied by the Judicial Court and the premises of the City Council.
20th century
The castle was classified as a National Monument by a Decree of June 23, 1910, issued by the General Directorate of Public Works and Mines. Despite having been classified, the castle of Silves was still in a poor state of conservation, and in 1939 Abel Viana reported that the citadel was occupied by vegetable gardens and domestic animals, deposits of manure and gravel, with the chain still in operation at the time. with the prisoners locked in the towers. The walls of the enclosure were also in imminent ruin, very cracked and with large cavities at the bases, a situation that was made worse by the removal of stone from their foundations, for the construction of buildings.
In the 1940s, major restoration works were carried out on the fortress, financed as part of the Development Plans, and which included the consolidation of some elements, and the demolition and reconstruction of others, in addition to the destruction of several buildings along the walls, in the sense of to leave them unobstructed. Excavations were also carried out next to the main entrance and the parade ground, in order to lower and regularize the land, and repairs to the guardhouse, whose roofs were rebuilt. In the main square, cleaning works were also carried out on the cistern. All the towers and sections of the wall were subject to restoration work, with the keep reinforced and a tower and part of the wall, which were at imminent risk of ruin, having been rebuilt. The consolidation work on the towers also covered some corners and vaults, where reinforced concrete straps were applied. The battlements were also completely rebuilt, including the stonework steps and the battlements. However, these works led to the destruction of part of the ruins of the Almohad palace. In 1947 the jail was transferred to a location outside the city, and the following year the restoration work on the citadel was officially completed. In 1959, work began on a large part of the walls of Cerca da Vila, which lasted until 1966.
In 1965, a new work campaign began, with masonry structures being demolished and removed, and a building adjacent to a wall removed. In the following year, repair and reinforcement works continued, and in 1967 works were carried out to adapt one of the turrets to a municipal museum. In 1969, the castle was damaged by an earthquake, and consolidation work was carried out later that year. Between 1971 and 1973, a new work campaign took place, which included the recovery of the tower and part of the wall located next to the Town Hall, and the consolidation of the vestments into a turret. However, in 1972, the Almedina Tower was subject to works. In 1977 work was done to consolidate the walls, and in 1979 a corner was rebuilt, and repair work was carried out on the roof of a tower and the buildings inside the castle. Meanwhile, in June 1978, the Beer Festival was organized in the castle, an event that was part of the program of the Algarve Regional Tourism Commission. In the 1980s, restoration work on the walls focused mainly on the sections to the North, South and Southeast. In October 1980, an order was issued approving the classification of the Walls of Silves and Porta Almedina as a Property of Public Interest, and in that year the sections of the wall facing the west and north were also reinforced, while in 1981 they were consolidated. if two towers in the North zone. The following year, ashlar ashlars were laid on the corners of a turret, among other repair works, and in 1984 the ruins of a building next to the walls next to Rua Dr. Francisco Vieira, the walls were repaired and reinforced, and work continued on laying ashlar ashlars. Also in that year, a campaign of restoration work began on the castle, which lasted until 1987. Francisco Vieira.
In the 1980s, archaeological work began on a large scale in the castle, with excavations starting in 1982, focusing mainly on a cistern well next to a wall, and on the ruins of an albarrã tower that had recently been destroyed. Between 1985 and 1997, the castle was the target of several archaeological campaigns, coordinated by Rosa Varela Gomes, as part of a study program of the city's population up to the Middle Ages, confirming the time of the various built elements, and discovering an important booty set. Between 1986 and 1988 the Almohad occupation of the citadel was studied, in 1989 the excavations were extended to the Almohad and Almoravid houses, and in 1990 to a cistern inside the castle. Work resumed in 1992, and the following year the Islamic well-cistern inside the museum was cleared of rubble, and the structures for conducting water in the castle were excavated, including a cistern located inside the Almohad garden. In 1994, signs of occupation of the fortress in the 13th and 14th centuries were found, after the Christian reconquest, electromagnetic soundings were carried out, and studies continued on the cisterns and water reservoirs. In 1995, a set of Almohad baths was identified, which was the first of this period to be found in the national territory, also highlighting the discovery of a lead insignia of an English order of chivalry. In 1996, the excavations in the former Almohad palatine area were expanded, and some structures already discovered were reconstructed and consolidated, with a view to making them a museum. These works continued in 1997, and in that year the Cisterna dos Cães was also excavated. ceramic pieces.
Meanwhile, in 1993 restoration work was carried out on the castle, ending the cycle of works coordinated by the Directorate-General for National Buildings and Monuments, which had begun about half a century ago. In December 1995, Council of Ministers Resolution No. 161/95 was published, which ratified the Silves Municipal Master Plan, where the walls and Porta Almedina were classified as Municipal Value. In 2000, the City Council began rebuilding the corners of the Tower of Almedina, and carried out major rehabilitation works on the fortress, which included repairing roofs, restoring the painted ceilings of the Alcáçova, by the Centro de Estudos de Arte e Arqueologia de To take. A program was also started to make the spaces inside the citadel museum-friendly, which included the reuse of old buildings for educational purposes, and the installation of a botanical garden linked to the theme of the Portuguese Discoveries, in the area of the former Governor's backyard.
XXI century
In 2001, excavations were carried out in the place where the Municipal Library would be built, and traces of an outer wall surrounding the town, and of several residential and commercial buildings, were found. In 2002, work continued on rebuilding the cornerstones in Torre da Almedina, which had been removed to facilitate car traffic, and in 2003 restoration work was carried out, which included the consolidation and reconstruction of the ruins inside, and the conservation of the cistern. That year, conditions for visiting the fortress were also improved, through the installation of walkways, water and sewage infrastructure, toilets and a cafeteria. An effort was also made to complement the historical aspect with exhibitions and other events inside, including the exhibition On the way to the Iberian lynx. In 2005, a cleaning intervention was carried out on the outside of the castle.
In March 2005, the Directorate-General for National Buildings and Monuments drew up a Risk Charter for the main entrance to the castle wall. In September, the Faro delegation of the Portuguese Institute of Architectural Heritage made a new proposal for the opening of the procedure for classifying the walls and Porta Almedina, since the previous process was lost, and the reopening of the file was carried out by an order on the 20th of December of that year. On the 9th of May 2006, the Faro IPPAR delegation made a proposal for the classification, and on the 12th of June of that year for the special protection zone of those properties. On the 12th of June 2008, he proposed the expansion of the special protection zone of the castle, in order to cover the Porta da Almedina and the remains of the walls, and on the 1st of October of that year the executive board of the Institute of Architectural Heritage Management and Arqueológico published an opinion, in which it approved the special protection zone for those properties, and proposed their classification as a National Monument. Announcement n.º 15560/2011, of October 27th, disclosed the intention, on the part of IGESPAR, to propose the classification as a National Monument, and the delimitation of the special protection zone, the classification having been determined by Decree n.º 31-C/2012, of 31 December, In this way, the previous protected area was complemented, which was limited only to the citadel and a contiguous part of the old walls.
Meanwhile, between 2003 and 2007, excavations continued in the castle area, within the scope of the Silves POLIS programme, coordinated by Rosa Varela Gomes, highlighting the discovery, on the northern side, of a Visigothic place of worship. In 2006, during work on the installation of a tea house, evidence was found of a building next to the walls, southwest of the Praça de Armas, which may have been the home of Infante D. Henrique. This important discovery, together with the commemorations of the appointment of the Infante as Mayor of Silves, was the motto for the organization, in December 2007, of the conference O Infante D. Henrique – Mayor of Silves (1457) – Commemorations of the 550 Years. Interviewed by the newspaper Barlavento, archaeologist Rosa Varela Gomes criticized the way in which neither the POLIS program in Silves nor the municipality had «money to make this area of the Castle a museum», having added that «it would be necessary to find funding to continue the investigations, perhaps through cultural patronage, because they are very important testimonies of a fundamental period for the Algarve and about which, in Silves, very little is known». He also stated that «when talking about the Expansion, we are talking about Lagos, where the caravels left. But the genesis of the Expansion was in Silves, which was the center of power in the Algarve».
In August 2015, the west area of the castle was the subject of archaeological work, directed by Mário and Rosa Varela Gomes, from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, with the cooperation of the Municipality of Silves. This place was identified as the possible Alcaidaria of Infante D. Henrique, also highlighting the finding of a sugar mill, dating from the 14th or 15th centuries. That year, the municipality carried out restoration work on the walkway around the citadel. In 2016, stucco fragments located beneath the ruins of the Almohad palace were studied, elements considered rare in the national territory, and belonging to arches decorated with reliefs, incisions and paintings, and to walls decorated with geometric, epigraphic, and phytomorphic motifs. Some elements from the battle of 1189 were also discovered. In October 2017, the third phase of archaeological excavations in the historic center began, with several discoveries of interest being made, including a flagstone pavement next to the Porta da Cidade, also known as Almedina Gate. Seven coins were found under this pavement, probably from the period between the reigns of Afonso Henriques and D. Dinis, a discovery that reinforced the theory that the Porta da Cidade had been built after the definitive reconquest, and not during the Islamic era, as previously thought. In 2019 the castle was awarded a Five Star award, in the category of National Monuments, and that year the surrounding area was the subject of a restoration intervention. In May 2021, the municipality began conservation and restoration works on tower 4, as part of a program to restore and refurbish the remains of the old almedina wall.
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