Country
Portugal
City / Region
Caminha / Viana do Castelo
Construction Date
The bastioned fortress dates from 1649-1652, built during the reign of King John IV. The islet already had a previous religious occupation, with a chapel and a Franciscan monastery founded in 1392.
Conservation status
Classified as a National Monument since 1910. After periods of abandonment and ruin, it was integrated in 2016 into the REVIVE program, which aims for its rehabilitation and tourist development as a hotel or accommodation establishment. A public tender for its concession was launched in 2019.
Latitude and Longitude
41°51'33"N 8°52'28"W
Main characteristics
Bastioned fortification built on a rocky islet. It has an irregular star-shaped plan with five bastions and a ravelin. An exceptional feature is the integration of the pre-existing Franciscan convent within the military walls, a very rare typology in Portugal, paralleled only by the Berlenga Fort. This coexistence demonstrates a pragmatic solution for defending a strategic point that already had a religious occupation, integrating both functions. The fort has a freshwater well located in the sea, allegedly one of only three in the world. The main gate displays coats of arms (Portugal and of the Governor of Minho) and a plaque alluding to its construction. A lighthouse was later installed on one of the bastions. Ínsua Fort marked the beginning of the Atlantic defensive line established after the Restoration and was crucial for the defense of the northwestern border, its cannons providing crossfire with the stronghold of Caminha and controlling the mouth of the Minho River. This location underscores the strategic importance of riverine and maritime borders in containing Spain.
Source(s)
ALMEIDA, Carlos Alberto Ferreira de. Alto Minho. Lisboa: [s.n.], 1987. ALVES, Lourenço. Caminha e seu concelho. Caminha: Edição do Autor, 1985.
CALIXTO, Carlos Pereira. "O Convento, a Fortaleza e o Farolim da Ínsua". Revista da Marinha, Lisboa, II série, ano 44, n. 88, p. 27-30, 1980.
GIL, Júlio; CABRITA, Augusto. Os mais belos castelos e fortalezas de Portugal. Lisboa: Verbo, 1986.
GUERRA, Luís Figueiredo da. Castelos do Distrito de Viana. Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade, 1926. (Separata de O Instituto).
MOREIRA, Rafael. "Do Rigor Histórico à Urgência prática: a Arquitectura Militar". In: História da Arte em Portugal. Lisboa: Publicações Alfa, 1986. v. 8.
NOÉ, Paula. Guia de Inventário - Fortificações medievais e modernas. Sacavém: IHRU, IP, 2015. Versão 1.1.
PORTUGAL. Direção-Geral do Património Cultural (DGPC). Forte da Ínsua. [Online]. Disponível em: https://servicos.dgpc.gov.pt/pesquisapatrimonioimovel/detalhes.php?code=70476. Acesso em: [Data de acesso].
PORTUGAL. Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitetónico (SIPA). Forte da Ínsua / Farol da Ínsua. [Online]. Disponível em: http://www.monumentos.gov.pt/site/app_pagesuser/sipa.aspx?id=3607. Acesso em: [Data de acesso].
SILVA, João M. F. "Caminha através dos tempos. Igrejas, Capelas, Mosteiros e Conventos". Caminiana, Caminha, n. 2, p. 127-159, 1980.
TURISMO DE PORTUGAL. Forte da Ínsua. REVIVE. [Online]. Disponível em: https://revive.turismodeportugal.pt/pt-pt/node/750. Acesso em: [Data de acesso].