Fort Santa Apolónia
The Fort Santa Apolónia, also known as Santa Apolónia Bulwark or Battery of Manique, is located in the parish of Penha de França, municipality and District of Lisbon, in Portugal.
History
The fort was built between 1652 and 1668, during the Portuguese Restoration War against Spain, but never finished. It was part of a planned ring of small forts or "bulwarks" around Lisbon, of which only four were built: Santa Apolónia, Sacramento, Livramento and Cruz da Pedra Fort.Built on grounds belonging to the Viscount of Manique, at an undetermined time, the loss of its defensive function meant that the old fort was annexed into the grounds of Manique Estate, and, later, to the counts of São Vicente.
In 1945, the remains of Santa Apolónia were owned by the firm George & H. Hall Limited.
The set is classified as a Property of Public Interest by Decree of 6 March 1996. It awaits the implementation of a preservation and restoration project commissioned by the Lisbon city council, to the Associação dos Amigos dos Castelos, which foresees the recovery of the wall and two guardhouses, the excavation of the land to remove the rubble and a landscaping intervention in order to preserve the fort, transforming it into a park where the privileged landscape over the Tagus can be appreciated. In addition, the project suggested the creation of a playground, a cafeteria, in addition to the use of one of the three basements of the Concorde building, a 12-storey residential building built inside the fort for the installation of an equipment, such as a library.