Belem Tower

                                                                 Belem Tower

Belém Tower (Portuguese: Torre de Belém, pronounced, is officially the Tower of Saint Vincent. The tower has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.

The Belém Tower is situated on the northern bank of the Tagus River in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém, municipality of Lisbon, accessible at the western end of the Avenida de Brasília by a small bridge.

Nearby are the Jeronimos Monastery to the east and the Forte do Bom Sucesso to the west, while to the north are the tower Governor's residence, the old Governor's residence for the Bom Successo fort, and the Chapel of São Jerónimo.

The tower is predominantly Manueline in style. It also incorporates features of Moorish architecture, which are manifested in the delicate decorations, the arched windows, the balconies, and the ribbed cupolas of the watchtowers.

The tower is about 12 meters (39 ft.) wide and 30 meters (98 ft.) tall The tower has four stories, with fenestrations and battlements, the ground floor being occupied by a vaulted cistern.

The floor interior contains the Sala do Governador (Governor's Hall), an octagonal space that opens into the cistern, while in the northeast and northwest corners are corridors that link to the bartizans. A small door provides access via a spiral staircase to the subsequent floors.

The southern part of the second floor is dominated by a covered veranda with a loggia (matacães), consisting of an arcade of seven arches, resting on large corbels with balusters. It is covered by laced stonework to form a porch, and its sloped roof ends in a sculpted twisted rope.

The eastern, northern, and western walls are occupied by double-arched enclosures, with the northeast and northwest corners occupied by statues of Saint Vincent of Saragossa and the archangel Michael in niches.

The third floor has twin windows in the northern, eastern, and western façades, with balusters, interspersed by two armillary spheres and large relief with the Royal coat of arms.

The final floor is encircled by a terrace with shields of the Order of Christ, a northern arched door, and an eastern arched window. The terrace is enclosed by a low wall with colonnaded pyramidal merlons with bartizans in the four corners. A similar terrace above this floor offers a view of the surrounding landscape.