Portugal · 8th century
Castelo de Palmela ranks #5,175 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #77 of the 212 mapped in Portugal. Founded c. 800, it is older than 95% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 48 atlas entries founded in the 8th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,317 times in the last 60 days, more than 58% of the atlas. 6 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Lisbon, 26 km away. See how Portugal compares in the castle statistics.
Castle of Palmela is a castle in Portugal. It is classified as a National Monument.
The Castle of Palmela is located in the village, parish and county of the same name, district of Setúbal, in Portugal .
In Setúbal Peninsula, in the east side of the Arrábida mountain range, it is situated between the estuaries of the River Tagus and Sado River, near the mouth of the latter. It is part of the Costa Azul, in Arrábida Natural Park.
The early human occupation of the region dates back to prehistory, particularly the Neolithic period, according to the abundant archaeological testimony. Some scholars point to date of 310 BC for the founding of a settlement on the current location, fortified at the time of Romanization of the Iberian Peninsula in 106, by a Praetor of Lusitania, named Áulio Cornelius (or Áulio Cornelius Palma). Modern archaeological research proves, however, that the subsequent occupation of this site was uninterrupted, initially by the Visigoths and later the Muslims, the latter responsible for the primitive fortification between the eighth century and the ninth, greatly expanded between the tenth century and the 12th.
Text adapted from “Castle of Palmela” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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