1. Work done by:Aphroditie Iliopoulou Jan PalouLucie Pultrova Mariana Vaz

2. Belem Tower is a defense tower built in the Age ofthe Discoveries (when defending the city wasreally important) in tribute to the patron saint ofthe city, Saint Vicente. 3. In order to enhance the defense of Lisbon, King JooII drew up a plan that consisted of forming a three-fortress-defence on the Tagus estuary. It formed a triangleand on each angle, a fortress was constructed: Cascaisfortress on the right bank, S. Sebastio da Caparica on theleft bank and Belm Tower in the water. 4. The tower is replete withManueline decoration, symbolsof the Kings power: cablesencircling the building andterminating in elegant knots,armillary spheres, crosses of theMilitary Order of Christ andnaturalistic elements such asthe rhinoceros, the first suchrepresentation in stone knownin Europe. 5. with the construction of new, more modern and moreeffective defences, the Tower of Belm lost its role as defender of theentrance of the River Tagus.As centuries passed, new functions were given to the tower. It was acustoms control point, a telegraph station and even a lighthouse. 6. It also served as a political prison, its storerooms transformedinto dungeons, since the time when Philip II of Spain becameking of Portugal (1580) and during periods of political unrest.Finally, in 1983 UNESCO classified it as a World HeritageSite. 7. We think you should visit Belem Tower becauseits a beautiful monument that throughout thetimes had an important role in our history,especially in the portuguese discoveries and itrepresents a very rich and gorgeous time in ourhistory.