Belem Tower Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

This photo was taken in Belém (Lisbon) and shows the Belém Tower.

The Belém Tower is a beautiful and original monument, unrivalled in the whole world. Its harmonious and distinctive shape is sharply outlined against the sky and the water of the River Tagus, and the delicate decoration of its stone suggests to those who feast their eyes upon it the appearance of a finely carved jewel. It was, however, seen differently by those living at the time of its construction, for whom the tower was a formidable and fearsome defensive fortress at the entrance to the river estuary, which was the function that its founder D. Manuel I had intended for it.

As happens with the nearby Jerónimos Monastery, the memories evoked by the Belém Tower are associated with the era of the Discoveries. Belém is an area that is full of memories from Portuguese history, for it was also from here that Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral took off in their sea plane Lusitânia in 1922, heading for Rio de Janeiro to complete the first ever air crossing of the South Atlantic. The tower was built on a basalt island located close to the right bank of the Tagus, opposite the beach at Restelo, but, with the progressive southward creeping of the shore over the years, it is now practically ''moored'' to the bank itself. Construction began in 1514 under the supervision of the architect Francisco de Arruda. By 1520, it was complete, and ever since then it has remained for posterity as one of the world's most beautiful examples of military architecture.
The Belém Tower was an essential part of the defensive system for the mouth of the River Tagus, providing crossfire with the fortress of São Sebastião da Caparica on the south bank. It consists of a quadrangular tower reminiscent of the keeps of mediaeval castles and a polygonal bastion, itself a fine example of the period's advanced defensive technology, being designed to support heavy artillery, with embrasures shaped rather like hatchways reaching almost to sea level.

The sentry posts on each corner of the bastion are crowned by melon domes, denoting the influence of the style that was used in fortifications in Morocco, where Francisco de Arruda worked and certainly sought inspiration. Apart from these oriental features, the predominant decoration used in the tower is Manueline, as seen in the stone rope that encircles it, the heraldic motifs and even the famous rhinoceros, the first sculpted stone representation of this animal in Europe. The tower's most decorative side is the one facing south. Along this runs the loggia, with its finely carved limestone balustrade. Above the loggia are the shield of D. Manuel I and the armillary spheres.

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Regards from Portugal,
António

Tue, Galmeida, diasman, jjbach, leonorkuhn, Emile, aloyho, efigesta, ChrisJ, papagolf21, pitai, jhm, devimeuxbe, Paolo, aznegrao, jmdaoudal has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Tue (25608) 2005-10-05 18:07

Hej Antonio,
Very nice capture of this famous tower. You had a good light and also fine shadows on the building. Very nice view, well done.
Hilsner,
Lars

Galmeida (12559) 2005-10-05 18:11

Hi Antonio,
Está "Postando muito rápido" ;))) Obrigado pelas sua grande informação nas notas que acompanham um dos maiores simbolos da arquitectura historica, patrimonial e cultural Portuguesa. É uma peça de arte milhares de vezes fotografada, mas que é um grande artwork que você soube capturar e transmitir. Para além do mais, tem pessoas, movimento e a luminosidade natural e tipica da Capital.

Bem visto e uma composição bem realizada e complementar do que é habitual.

Um abraço e parabéns.
Fernando

diasman (433) 2005-10-05 18:17

5 october, and the light is still the same!

well done ;-)

jjbach (9105) 2005-10-05 18:25

Hi Antonio,
You captured this famous tower in a very effective way. I like the lighting and the contrast very much. The off-center position of the tower is fine. The only thing that I believe you could avoid, is the fat lady on the bottom right corner. Anyway, it's a splendid work!

Regards John

leonorkuhn (13621) 2005-10-05 21:07

Olá Antonio,
Excelente captura desta magnífica torre, com uma arquitetura tão peculiar. As cores e a luminosidade estão excelentes. Gostei do POV e do enquadramento, um lado luz e o outro sombra.
Parabéns a abraços,
Leonor

Emile (20001) 2005-10-06 0:03

Hola Antonio.
No hay dudas que Lisboa es una preciosa ciudad igual que todo Portugal. Esta foto esta muy bien captada con unos colores y foco excelentes. La torre es impresionante. Muy buen DOF. Gracias por esa nota explicativa tan completa.
Well done.

aloyho (6109) 2005-10-06 1:43

Hi Antonio,
A very interesting tower and architecture. You have chosen a good time and the lighting is nice. I do agree with Ioannis regarding the lady on the right. A few seconds later would make the difference. Well done!!! Regards.

pablominto (40788) 2005-10-06 4:02

Hi Antonio,
A wonderful composition, where you take full advantage of the angle of lighting giving perspective and life to that interesting old structure! In particular I like the placement of the persons... present, but not imposing on the main subject. Good job again, and it is really nice to meet you here in TE too!
Regards,
Pablo -

prumod (8262) 2005-10-06 4:56

hi antonio
i love these architectures very much... and you could capture it with good light and shade... your timing was perfect..
regards
pramod

efigesta (12181) 2005-10-06 5:17

Ola Antonio, a torre de belem e um monumento muito fotografado, mas efectivamente tu das um efeito ainda mais bonito, esta com um bom POV e boas cores, a nota esta excelente arabens, abraço Manuel

ChrisJ (70293) 2005-10-06 6:54

Ola Antonio

Maybe I'd add a little cyan to mute the red tinge in the stone. But the pov, sharpness, & tonal range, are all superb. Obrigado & parabens!

papagolf21 (56451) 2005-10-06 7:50

Bonjour Antonio,
Une note excellente qui fait revivre avec talent cette Tour Bélem ! Le photographe a su donner à cette tour son aspect défensif et son architecture très particulière.
Très intéressante et fort bien réalisé.
Amitiés.
Philippe

pitai (3925) 2005-10-06 8:01

Ola Antonio,

Gostei do efeito mitade luz, mitade sombra na torre. Acho k uma foto vertical era mais apropiada para esta foto em particular. Uma nota muito informativa como sempre.
Bom trabalho!

Gabriel

feather (49862) 2005-10-06 11:54

Very decorative and beautiful piece of architecture, taken from (your trademark)corner viewpoint. I like the delicate pastel colours on this one. Maybe the lady on the right is superfluous to the image?
Kath

jhm (82629) 2005-10-06 12:16

Hi Antonio,
What a beautiful construction style have this lovely castle, I like the lighting and the contrast very much, also of the interesting note, I learn everyday on TE, without travels! The people on the bridge give a good scale of the great of castle.
Best regards,
John.

Graal (58065) 2005-10-06 13:49

Hi Antonio,
very good photo and interesting informations.I saw it tower when going of train to Cascais.Good job, I like it.
Rgs, Aleksander

devimeuxbe (55867) 2005-10-07 3:15

Hi Antonio
great light and colors.
The beautifull architecture is well framed.
Beautifull picture
Bertrand

fabio_ts (13674) 2005-10-07 4:45

A perfect composed photo Antonio, I like a lot the way that you have included the two person at the two edges of the image..(the woman and probably her son..)
compliments!!
have a nice week end, Fabio.

Paolo (40703) 2005-10-07 7:27

A classica shot Anotnio, but very beautiful!
i took 4 or 5 images of Belem Tower when i went in Lisbon, nut no-one have a so beautiful light and general composition!
i like also the soft colors, the walking woman and the small flag on the top of the tower.
excellent image and very interesting note.
thanks, ciao

dsidwell (9745) 2005-10-08 2:10

Very nice placement of this tower in the frame, Antonio. You might want to experiment with different levels of dark and light. On my computer monitor, the photo appears quite bright--but this also adds an interesting and light mood to it.

sines (0) 2005-10-09 6:13 [Comment]

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aznegrao (10230) 2005-10-09 13:57

Ola Antonio!!!
Gosto muito do efeito obtido com esse enquadramento, que torna a imagem forte e impactante. Gosto das cores fortes porem naturais.
Abraço.
Amigo.
aznegrao

jmdaoudal (82) 2005-10-10 5:04

This exceptionnal monument is great here and in this situation of high tide.
Good light and texture and also a rich idea to show it entire and in the island situation.
great
Jean Michel
Thanks for the note