Castelo de Faria (vestígios)

Portugal, Portugal

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The Castelo de Faria ruins near Gilmonde in Barcelos municipality, Portugal, occupy a hilltop site with human settlement from the 3rd-2nd millennium BC Chalcolithic through Iron Age, Roman occupation, and early medieval Christian defenses during the 9th-10th century Reconquista.

First documented in 1099 under lord Soeiro Mendes da Maia, it was seized by Afonso Henriques alongside Neiva Castle in his 1128 revolt against Countess Teresa, later expanded with a keep under Dinis (1279-1325) and another tower by Fernando I (1367-1383), famously resisting a Castilian assault in 1373 led by Nuno Gonçalves da Faria.

 Abandoned from the 15th century under the Avis dynasty as Barcelos rose, its stones fed the nearby Convento da Franqueira; excavations from 1929-1940 and later confirmed the irregular walls, barbican, and towers, classifying it a National Monument in 1956.