Beam Tower

Sortelha

The only tower adjacent to the Romanesque wall faces west, which better flanked and controlled access to the interior of the village. The tower considerably increased the fortification's field of vision for the entire transition region from Meseta to Cova da Beira, up to Serra da Estrela, enabling visual contact with the surrounding castles of Belmonte, Covilhã and Monsanto. It is because of this characteristic that the Tower gained its traditional name of the Beam Tower – in memory of the torch lit at night there, or the smoke from a fire during the day, which allowed visual contact with these nearby fortifications. The tower has a rectangular plan and is about 10 m high, being completely covered with numerous stonework marks dating back to its foundation during the reign of King Dinis or King Fernando.