Friday, October 10, 2008

The Citadel

Cascais Citadel and Fortress are a complex of buildings whose construction took place between the 15th and the 17th centuries, for the defense of the coast and Tagus river estuary.
In the year of 1871, many changes have been made inside, once the Citadel became the summer house of the royal family.
The man staring at the ocean with the binoculars in his hand is the sea lover King Charles I (1863-1908).
Seen from the small beach at the bay.
This is the western part of the fortress. The glass 'boxes' are the entrances to the elevators of the underground car parking. On the right side of the photo, where the portuguese flag stands, is the entrance to the marina that sits below the fort. (Click on the photo for a better view)
The Citadel is now housing Lisbon fashion week (Moda Lisboa) for a few days (see previous post).

7 comments:

Hilda said...

I like the juxtaposition of the fortress with those glass boxes. And to have a fashion show in the citadel — wow! I hope you're going so we'll have pictures to see! :)

Marcel said...

Nice summer home for the Royals. I could get use to living someplace like that.

Profile Not Available said...

Really well done!

PJ said...

I hope the proponents for the foundry have some small victories and save some of the tile murals. They are exquisite. It's fascinating that there is underground parking there.

Jules said...

What a stunning place for the fashion show!! Those glass boxes remind me of the glass pyramid in the Louvre Courtyard!!!

stromsjo said...

Thanks for sharing. So the king died at 45. I'm always impressed by people who have a short life and still leave a legacy of some kind. Makes one think, what exactly have I accomplished...

valeria said...

At first sight I thought the fortress angle was in Orbetello, Tuscany, near to the place where I grew up. The area was conquered by the Spanish in the XV cent. and Orbetello was the "capital" of the "Stato dei Presìdi". Today many structures like those walls and palm trees are still there...
I had never seen anything so close to it!!!