Castelo de Santiago do Cacém

Portugal, Portugal

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Castelo de Santiago do Cacém in Santiago do Cacém, Portugal, was originally built by the Moors around the 8th century on a hilltop site overlooking ancient Roman Miróbriga, serving as a strategic stronghold known as Kassen during Islamic rule.

First captured by Christian forces under Afonso I in 1157 amid the Reconquista, retaken by Almohads in 1191, it became definitively Portuguese in 1217 under Afonso II, who donated it to the Order of Santiago for rebuilding with robust walls, ten square towers, semi-cylindrical turrets, and crenellated battlements protecting the village.

Losing military relevance after the 17th-century Restoration War, it fell into ruin—serving briefly as a cemetery—before restoration as a National Monument in 1910, now offering panoramic views amid Alentejo's coastal plains.