Castro Fortress, Vigo, Spain - SpottingHistory.com

The Fortaleza del Castro is a hilltop fortress in Vigo built in 1665 during the Portuguese Restoration War in order to protect the city from the continuous raids by the British Royal Navy, allies of Portugal.

Built on the hill of the same name, the defensive system of the city consisted of the fortresses of Castro and San Sebastián and the now disappeared city wall. The city wall had an irregular shape due to the orography of the city, it was constructed by the Engineer Colonel Fernando de Gourannanbergue and maestre de campo Diego Arias Taboada to link the two fortresses. Despite this effort to provide security to the city, documents from that time say that this defensive system was ineffective as it could not impede landings further along the coast.

After several attempts to improve the defenses of the city, Vigo was looted again by British navy on the 23-24 October 1702 during Battle of Vigo Bay at the War of the Spanish Succession.

In 1809, the fortress was occupied by the French army during Peninsular War; on 28 March that year the fortress was reconquered following an uprising by people of Vigo, because of the city was given the honorific title of 'the faithful, loyal and courageous city of Vigo' the following year.

Nowadays the fortress is one of the preferred sites for people to take a walk in Vigo, because his beautiful gardens, open spaces, fonts and also the privileged views.

References:

Wikipedia

Castles and fortifications in Spain

User Reviews

Neteja Serveis (3 years ago)
I don't used to came arrond, because it hertz so much painfool it is...

K M A Samad (3 years ago)
What a beautiful place of Galicia. I love the place.

Maruxa Gesto Rodríguez (3 years ago)
The quiet morning and the views. Lovely

Lorna Davison (4 years ago)
Fog on a December rainy day made this place at once mystical and reverent. Not many visitors. Be very careful when backing into the parking spots against the hillside. There is a fairly deep trough that water runs in around the hillside. It could damage your car if you back in too far. Got some great shots of the hillside itself as views were not available. A rare thing indeed for a traveler who loves unique light.

Jim Mannoia (4 years ago)
Beautiful views! No signage to direct you to the entrance which happens to be on the opposite side from where the main steps come up. So you climb up a long final flight only to find a locked door, then have to walk back down and go around. A simple sign would have saved a long climb after already climbing literally hundreds of steps even AFTER the escalators!!

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Monte d'Accoddi

Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.

The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.

The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.

Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.

The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.

The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.

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