
Torre de Belém was built, during the Discoveries (when the city’s defence was extremely important), in homage to S. Vicente.
The Tower of Belém’s decoration symbolizes the power of the king: elegant knots, armillary spheres, naturalistic crosses of the Military Order of Christ and other elements.
It was used as a light house, as a prison and was transformed into dungeons, during the Phillipine ocupation (1580). It was classified as Cultural Patrimony of All Mankind by the Unesco in 1983.
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