Porto, the Douro & Trás-os-Montes - Portugal - page 847

Cidadela
OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP
Climb uphill from Largo de São Vicente and you'll soon set foot inside the astonishingly
well-preserved 12th-century citadel. People still live in its narrow, atmospheric lanes, un-
spoilt by the few, low-key handicrafts shops and cafes that have crept in.
Within the ruggedly ramparted walls is the original castle - built by Sancho I in 1187
and beefed up in the 15th century by João I, then heavily restored in the 1930s. The stout
Torre de Menagem OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP was garrisoned up until the early 20th century. It
now houses a Museu Militar OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Military Museum; admission €2, Fri morning free;
9am-noon & 2-5pm Tue-Sun) , whose four floors are filled with swords, guns and suits of ar-
mour spanning several centuries, from medieval times to WWI and the Salazar dictator-
ship's colonial exploits. The price of admission is well worth the chance to climb to the
top of the crenellated tower, with great views all around. In front of the torre is an ex-
traordinary, primitive pelourinho OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (stone pillory) atop a granite boar
similar to the berrões found around the province.
Squatting at the rear of the citadel is an odd pentagonal building known as the Domus Mu-
nicipalis OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Town House; Terreiro do Castelo; 9am-5pm Tue-Sun) , the
oldest town hall in Portugal - although its precise age is a matter of scholarly disagree-
ment - and one of the few examples of civil Romanesque architecture on the Iberian Pen-
insula. Bragança's medieval town council once met upstairs in an arcaded room studded
with weathered faces of man and beast and scratched with symbols of the stonemasons.
Beside the Domus Municipalis is the early-16th-century Igreja de Santa Maria OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP . Of particular interest are its brick Mudéjar columns, vividly painted ceiling,
and a 17th-century Santa Maria Madalena at the high altar, with her traditional long hair
and ragged garb.

HISTORIC BUILDING

Museu Ibérico da

Máscara e do Traje
(Iberian Mask & Costume Museum; Rua Dom Fernão o Bravo 24/26; adult/child €1/free; 9am-1pm & 3-6pm Tue-
Sun summer, 9am-12.30pm & 2-5.30pm Tue-Sun winter) This visually appealing little museum displays
a colourful and fascinating collection of masks and costumes from the ancient pagan-
based solstice and Carnaval festivities celebrated in Trás-os-Montes and neighbouring
Zamora (Spain). Costumes are displayed across three floors, with the upper exhibits ded-
icated to the work of local artisans.

MUSEUM