Belmonte's Castle Photo

Photographer’s Note

El castillo de Belmonte se levanta en la zona más elevada de la localidad del mismo nombre, distrito de Castelo Branco, Portugal, al norte de la misma, sobre un cabezo que domina la margen izquierda del río Zêzere.

El origen del castillo se debe al rey Sancho I, quien lo mandó construir entre finales del siglo XII y principios del XIII, posiblemente sobre un anterior poblamiento pre-romano según se ha comprobado en excavaciones llevadas a cabo en la zona. Así mismo, el rey concedió fuero a la villa, que fue confirmado por su sucesor, Sancho II, en 1223.

Su planta es un polígono cuadrangular irregular. La puerta de acceso, situada en el lado sudoeste, se cierra con un arco de medio punto y la defiende un matacán. Una vez dentro se abre un amplio pasillo que en su día debió estar cubierto por las dependencias edificadas por Fernão Cabral. Dicho pasillo describe una curva hacia la izquierda hasta dar con otra puerta que permite el acceso a la amplia plaza de armas.

La torre del homenaje, que se asienta sobre una zapata de poca altura y a la cual no se puede acceder, tiene dos puertas: una a la altura de las dependencias de la primera planta, y otra a nivel del suelo, si bien antes de convertirse el castillo en residencia señorial debió tener su acceso por el adarve de la muralla. En el flanco oeste se ven las ventanas dotadas de poyetes y el ajimez manuelino de las dependencias palaciegas.

En el lado este del patio de armas se encuentra en aljibe, actualmente cubierto por una montera de cristal. Al norte se abre una segunda puerta, llamada de la Traición. Finalmente, en la zona sur, se ha construido un graderío al estilo de los teatros griegos, para representaciones al aire libre.

El castillo de Belmonte fue declarado Monumento Nacional el 15 de octubre de 1927.

Dos WS.
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Belmonte Castle stands on the highest point of the town of the same name, district of Castelo Branco, Portugal, north of it, on a head that dominates the left bank of the river Zêzere.

The castle is home to King Sancho I, who had built between the end of the twelfth century and the beginning of XIII, possibly on an earlier pre-Roman settlement as seen in excavations carried out in the area. Likewise, the king granted jurisdiction to the villa, which was confirmed by his successor, Sancho II in 1223.

Your plant is an irregular quadrilateral polygon. The access door located on the southwest side, it closes with a half-point arc and defends a Matacán. Once inside there is a wide corridor that once had to be covered by the units built by Fernão Cabral. This curve describes a hallway to the left to find another door that allows access to the wide square.

The keep, which sits on a little shoe height and which can not be accessed, has two doors: one at the height of the units in the first floor and another at ground level, but before becoming lordly residence in the castle should have access by adarve the wall. On the west side windows are fitted with poyetes and Manueline ajimez units palace.

On the eastern side of the ground is in well, now covered by an overburden of glass. North opens a second door, call the Betrayal. Finally, in the south, has a stand built in the style of the Greek Theater for performances outdoors.

Belmonte Castle was declared a National Monument on October 15, 1927.

Two WS.

photoray, isabela_sor, BeBeHooker, besnard, Gerrit, danos, Clementi, snunney, Amaz, jlbrthnn, Rafer, chpp, AiresSantos, adores, macondo, Jakab, shevchenko trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

photoray (1328) 2009-08-09 10:20

Hi Charo,

The dominating keep and castillo details are nicely composed, with good lighting.

good job,
Ray

I just watched the movie The Pride and the Passion (again) and even though it is fictional, it was filmed in Spain with tens of thousands of Spaniards. Your images definitely reveal Spain's historical icons. thanks.

isabela_sor (42221) 2009-08-09 10:24 [Comment]

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BeBeHooker (5808) 2009-08-09 10:25

Hi Charo!
Wonderful great castle, amazing sky, fantastic clouds. Nice colors. Very good frame.
Cheers!

besnard (30894) 2009-08-09 10:39

Bonjour Charo
Un superbe chateaufort perché sur un rocher qui semble dominer la situation. La prise en contre-plongée accentue l'impression de force.
Merci pour le partage et bonne soirée.
Nicole

jurek1951 (26020) 2009-08-09 10:44

Witaj Charo,
piekny zamek,ladnie pokazany super kolorystyka,kapitalne niebo daje ladny kontrast,pozdrawiam
Jurek

francio64 (11378) 2009-08-09 11:33

Ciao Charo,
spettacolare immagine di questo castello, soprattutto per contrasto cromatico.
Benchè la luce non sembra essere a tuo favore, la gestione è superba.

Complimenti!
Francesco

rossofuoco (6384) 2009-08-09 11:55

Ciao Charo.
Immagine ben curata con colori e composizione eccellenti.
Ciao Renzo

toto (18731) 2009-08-09 12:47

Bonsoir,
belle photo de ce chateau qui ressort très bien sur ce fond légèrement nuageux.
Jolies couleurs, bonne netteté et belle lumiinosité.

Amitiés Thomas

pauloog (6697) 2009-08-09 13:09

Hello Charo,
A fine view of the castle tower, flanked by the cross and a contrasting white building,, well profiled against a beautiful cloudy sky.
Regards,
Paul

Gerrit (35965) 2009-08-09 16:37

Hi Charo,
great composition up on that mighty tower and the cross against the blue sky.
Great light.
Regards, Gerrit

gunbud (28013) 2009-08-09 17:39

Hi Charo,
This Richly textured old castle stands out brilliantly against this vivid blue sky and dramatic clouds.
The colors here are very crisp and clear and blend well with the sharp details of this fine photo.
Regards, Tom

gneufeld (15219) 2009-08-09 19:00

Hi Charo,
A nice capture of this old castle. I note the details and textures of the stonework. The low point of view adds some interesting depth and dynamic to this shot. Nice dark blue sky. Well done and TFS. Gerald

danos (32852) 2009-08-09 23:09

Hola Charo,
fascinating the view of the Belmonte castle that stand proudly on the top of the hill.I like the brilliant light as that the main tower outlined perfect against the blue sky.Well done.

Have a nice week,Danos

Clementi (44627) 2009-08-09 23:12

Ciao Charo,
il tuo pov esalta la bella architettura del castello e valorizza la casa vicino, molto bello il cielo, hai usato il polarizzatore?
Giorgio

HimalAnda (1060) 2009-08-09 23:28

Hello Charro,

Very good point of view and excellent composition ! I like the sky's color : it contrasts so lovely with the white wall on the right of the church.

Stéphane

emka (21865) 2009-08-09 23:45

Ola Charo,

Fantastic architecture of this old castle, impressive view from this low POV. The cross here is like in Portugal, with the upper part so short. great colours.

regards

Malgorzata

Nicou (45249) 2009-08-10 1:13

Hello,

Superbe compo, quelle belle tour, fière, bien mise en valeur, avec la partie blanche qui contraste, de l'autre côté la coxi, superbe cadrage et image.

Merci et maitié

Nicou

snunney (35118) 2009-08-10 1:29

Hello Charo,
A fine composition of this castle, which allows for some interesting tonal contrasts. The dramatic sky contributes much to the mood. The detail is very well rendered with good natural looking tones and excellent sharpness.

Amaz (7094) 2009-08-10 1:45

Majestuosa vista, Charo.
Impecable composición y extraordinaria nota, amiga.

¡Bello trabajo!

Saludos cordiales,

chawax (6102) 2009-08-10 2:31

Hi Charo,
Very nice point of view on this impressive castle. The sharpness is excellent and the light is very pleasant.
Regards,
Olivier

ifege (1905) 2009-08-10 3:11

Great shot Charo, great POV, composition and great colour
Regards
Ian

jlbrthnn (38433) 2009-08-10 5:37

Bonjour Charo,
La lumière et l'exposition sont de première qualité. J'aime le point de vue et la prise en contre-plongée qui fait se détacher la forteresse sur le ciel. J'aime bien aussi l'inclusion de la croix. Une belle image, félicitations.
Bonne journée.
Amicalement.
Joël

Rafer (4421) 2009-08-10 5:41

Fenomenal vista, color y cielo...saludos

sacavem (8381) 2009-08-10 6:20

Olá Chro,

Esta foto está lindíssima.Eu tentei fazer uma foto deste local mas não ficou nada bom.Tinha alguns carros à frente.
Gosto muito deste POV,contraste e luz muito bom.
Parabéns,
Filipe

chpp (3999) 2009-08-10 6:53

hola Charo
una toma particular del castillo, la torre luce muy bien en contraste con el cielo
saludos
C

darek1978 (11371) 2009-08-10 8:17

Hi Charo,
A wonderful sky and a pleasing perspective. Strong contrast and deep saturated colours- I like that.
Nice presentation in a neat frame. Well done!
Regards,
Darek

AiresSantos (42494) 2009-08-10 23:17

Ola Charo
Wonderful colours and POV in this great picture of Belmonte's Castle
I was there several times but I don't have a good picture of this place.
Excellent sharpness and light management
TFS and have a nice day
Aires

COSTANTINO (22946) 2009-08-11 8:29

Hi Charo,
beautiful castle and fantastic sky.
Nice POV and perfect light.
REgards,
Constantino

ymrk (8929) 2009-08-11 9:44

that like a Turkish Castle Charo...That polarizer blue of sky and architectural buildings is seeming affectingly..
Take care,un saludo!

Y.

sacimar (7502) 2009-08-12 16:32

Hola Charo,

curioso castillo, me encanta el contraste con el cielo, los colores son fantasticos, buena perspectiva y bonitos detalles, bien visto,

Un abrazo

Sergio

rodgerg (24529) 2009-08-13 11:48

Hello Charo,
A nice and interetsing place, a superb shot. The framing and especially the POV are very well selected. Excellent managment of light under this impressive sky blue with clouds. Colors, details and contrats well collected.
Congratulations,
Roger

adores (15671) 2009-08-13 16:32

Olá Charo!
Bonita foto do Castelo de Belmonte! Gosto do pov, do céu, das bandeiritas no topo e da forma como colocaste a cruz. As cores e nitidez estão excelentes!

macondo (13183) 2009-08-14 0:12

Hi Charo.
A stunning picture against a wonderful polarised sky, with clouds that have so much depth to them. Great low viewpoint emphasises the castle's dominance of the landscape. I like those tiny bits of colour in the flags and the windows and doors. A beautiful shot.
Regards,
Andrew

Jakab (3472) 2009-08-19 5:30

Hello Charo,
an impressive old castle. The low POV enhances its monumentality, the dark sky with clouds give an appropriate atmosphere.
Best whishes
Laszlo

Greg1949 (8511) 2009-08-19 10:30

charo, I am back from holiday and I see I have missed several wonderful posts. The detail in this is awesome and overall it seems to me to be perfect, really great work.

Greg

shevchenko (9986) 2009-08-19 19:43

Hi Charo,
Good pov to show architectures finished in different color within a shoot, glad that the castle still standing well on the peak, clear to see the stone wall, nice blue sky as background, the WS photos are beautiful too, thanks for sharing.
Ally

Silvio1953 (42293) 2009-08-22 11:33

Ciao Charo, great view of beautiful castle against a fantastic sky, wonderful composition with splendid light and colors, very well done, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

mauro61 (15998) 2009-08-31 23:08

ciao Charo,
stupenda inquadratura dal basso che esalta la mole del castello.
Bello il contrasto tra la sua costruzione in pietra e il bianco della casa vicino sotto un ottimo cielo.
Valida la croce laterale che è un ulteriore elemento compositivo,
un caro abbraccio
maurizio