Fort Santiago da Barra

Riverside bastion, incorporating the Roqueta Tower.

Once sea route to India was opened, in order to protect navigation on the Lima mouth, around 1502 King Manuel I (1495–1521) determined the construction of a bastioned tower, in the countryside of Santa Catarina, west end of the village called Roqueta Tower.[1] It was similar to the Cascais Bastion (began in 1498), and it would anticipate the Belém Tower (built in 1515) defending of the mouth of the Tagus.[2] Its name may have been derived from stone-shooting artillery pieces. This early structure had a bulwark facing the river Lima, later demolished.

The necessity of defending the rivermouth led to the need for modernization and expansion of the fortification. Thus, between 1567 or and 1568 (depending on the source), when the town of Viana had already received the title of "notable", by orders of the city council a small rectangular fort was initiated next to Roqueta Tower, which took advantage of the old Manueline fortification as the southwest corner of its wall.[1] This work was completed under the reign of King Sebastian (1554–1578), in 1572.[1]

Gateway.

Under the Habsburg Dynasty, during the reign of Philip I of Portugal (1580–1598), the Viana fort was completely remodeled and expanded, designed by the Italian military engineer and architect Filippo Terzi (1520–1597). Its works began in 1589, and the master-of-the-field, Dom Pedro Bermudes de Santisso mobilized the peasants to transport the stone needed for the building, and was completed in 1596 according to a stone inscription on the fort placed by orders of Dom Pedro Bermudes.[1]

In 1640, with the Restoration of independence, the population of the town flocked to the fort, surrounding it and forcing the capitulation of the Spanish garrison, whose commander was Don Bernardin Polano y Santillana.[1] In the context of the War of Restoration, it saw renovation works and additions being made between 1652 and 1654, at the behest of Dom Diogo de Lima, Viscount of Vila Nova da Cerveira and Governor-of-Arms of Entre-Douro-e-Minho, who added the bulwark São Pedro.[1] Improvement works would continue until 1799.[2]

Later, in 1700, when the town prospered with the export of wines from the Douro region to centers such as Dunkirk, Rouen, Venice, England, Sweden and even Russia, the defenses were added with ravelins and a moat on the land side. In 1745 the city hall authorizes the establishment of a military brotherhood in the chapel of the fort.[1] Reinforcement and modernization works were promoted in 1799.[1]

In the late 17th century and early 18th, King Peter II of Portugal determined the construction of four new forts to help defend the region from pirate attacks, in addition to Fort Santiago da Barra: Lagarteira Fort, Cão Fort, Paçô Fort, and Rego Fort.[3]

After participating in the Peninsular War, during the Portuguese Civil War (1828–1834), the fort saw action during the Maria da Fonte Revolt in 1846. It sheltered the Infantry Regiment nº3, which refused to join the revolt; the fort was besieged by forces of the Junta of Porto on February 28, which had revolted against the ruling regime, and on April 7 the garrison was allowed to abandon the fort and withdraw to Lisbon.[1]

After the Ministry of Defence withdrew from the fort the Battalion of Caçadores 9 in 1978, the fort was transferred to the Ministry of Finance in 1979.[1] From 1983 onwards, the extinct Alto Minho Tourism Region was installed in the fort, and in 2021 it became the headquarters of Turismo Porto e Norte. The Hotel School of Viana do Castelo also operates in the space, founded in 2007.

In 2021, a plan for the recovery of the fort is being prepared, which provides for the recovery of the building, the creation of a tourist circuit for visitation and the installation of an interpretive center for the Caminhos de Santiago.