south part of the courtyard of the said castle. It is one-storey and from four-and-a-half long varas to measure the cloth and other so many of wide." Between 1509 and 1510, Duarte D'Armas designed the castle in his Book of Fortresses, which he represented with an elliptical irregular barbican, crowned with merlons, except "a barrier without crenels toppled to the ground and the inside wall", addorsed in the corner by a small rectangular tower. This tower was only in the early stages of construction. At the time, the castle was an irregular polygon, with two towers in the north, one pentagonal and the other rectangular, with a semi-circular corbel. Within the structure was a military square with two ruined buildings and 11 chambers, rectangular and trapezoidal, a few with roof and cylindrical chimneys. In addition, there was a rectangular keep tower, with arrow-slits, that was built over cliffs, addorsed by residence of the Paço dos Távoras (consisting of three rectangular spaces of different heights). The one alongside the keep was the shortest, and included a full arch and four rectangular windows; the space, taller, included two-floors illuminated by arched windows with wooden balcony and topped by merlons; and the final, slightly shorter, included full-arch windows on the first floor and rectangular windows on the second-floor, surmounted by merlons. Access to the fortress was made by means of stairs at right angle, under which is a passage military square, with a circular well. Outside the walls, to addorsed to the east is a rabbit shed attached to the barbican, and from the same location extended the town, with its pillory. Opposite the houses on the outskirts of the village, was a church with steeple next to the barbican, and further away, a cross and five houses with cultivated lands. A new foral was issued in 1512 by D. Manuel (1495-1521), as the Távoras expanded their role in the defense of the Trás-os-Montes Province, until the end of the 17th century (at the time of the Portuguese Restoration War). In the 17th century a clock tower was constructed. Engravings and sketches from the 18th century, described the "Palace, that they call a castle". But, in the second half of the 18th century, following the tragic fate of the Távoras, and the loss of its defensive role, the castle was gradually abandoned, falling into ruins. The first major work to repair the site