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Constructed shortly afterwards of the Castilian victory on the Portuguese forces in 1580, this fortaleza engloba in its interior the old Tower of ordered António Saint to raise for D. João II. With three bastions, the ortaleza of triangular plant of Ours Lady of the Light was the fast solution found by the engineers to the service of Filipe II to strengthen in Cascais the only military structure capable to defend the port and the village. It was for excessively evident that the strategical situation of Cascais deserved a well-taken care of defense. Still during the Spanish occupation some solutions are studied, nominated the construction of a new abaluartada fortaleza. This solution alone will be practical ece of fish in sixty years later, in the scope of the plan of of the defense of the Bar of the taken Tejo the handle for conde of Cantanhede already under the orders directas of D. João IV. With the construction of the Cidadela, the importance of the fortaleza of Ours Lady of the Light started to restrict only to its batteries and its revelim. The interior of the fortaleza must have only functioned as "warehouse" of proper cidadela. During reign D. Miguel, to had been transferred to the prisoners politicians here who if found in S. Julião of the Bar and that still they were not contaminated of cólera, epidemic that at the time vitimou many prisoners. In 1964, Acácio Lourenço Pear tree identifies in the interior of the fortaleza the alçado north of the joanina Tower. This had been drawn with sufficient precision in 1572 for Georgius Braun in its workmanship Civitates Orbis Tenarrum. For this engraving the ordered Tower was evidenced that to raise for the Perfect Prince age, in architectural terms, very similar to the ones of the Trafaria and Belém, constructed at the same time. Keeping an almost medieval characteristic, the Tower had, however, one surrounds lowered with trons for the artillery that already prenunciavam the future abaluartada blockhouse.

http://www.cm-cascais.pt/Cascais/Cascais/Patrimonio/S_Patrimonio/fortaleza.htm