U.Porto Memory

Rectory Building of the U.Porto – Urban Environment

The Walls of Porto

The first castle walls of Porto are said to be of Swabian origin, although they perhaps date from Roman times (3^rd-4^th centuries). They were restored several times, namely in the 12^th century, after the town was donated to Bishop D. Hugo by D. Teresa (1120). It covered an area of less than 4 hectares and had 4 openings (Vandoma, S. Sebastião, Sant’Ana and Verdades or Mentiras). Only a part of the wall and a turret remains near Arqueosítio no. 5 in Rua D. Hugo, current head-office of the Northern Regional Department of the Association of Architects (which will soon move to Rua Álvares Cabral).

During the 14^th century, the old walls were replaced by new ones, built between the reigns of D. Afonso IV and D. Fernando I (1336-1376). With a perimeter of 2500 meters and standing 10 meters high, they enclosed an area of about 44.5 hectares. It had inner and outer sills, the latter with merlons, and was reinforced by cast and compact square towers, with a height ranging from 14 to 21 meters. It was a military and functional building, with doors corresponding to the former roads leading to S. João da Foz and Bouças, to Braga, Guimarães and Penafiel, and with shutters that allowed urban circulation. There still remain the sections of Guindais, the stairs of the Caminho Novo, the Postigo de Carvão and the so called Muro dos Bacalhoeiros, in Ribeira.