Lecture “Reading a Modern Fortress: Archaeology of Architecture and the History of the Fortress of Santa Catarina de Ribamar”

“Reading a Modern Fortress: Archaeology of Architecture and the History of the Fortress of Santa Catarina de Ribamar (Portimão)” is the theme of the lecture that archaeologist and science communicator Bruna Ramalho Galamba (CHAM, Universidade Nova de Lisboa) will give on June 27, at 18:00, in the Training Room of the Museum of Portimão.

This lecture proposes an integrated reading of the Fortress of Santa Catarina de Ribamar, based on the methodologies of architectural archaeology, highlighting its role in the defensive strategies of the Algarve coast between the Modern Era and contemporary times.

Conceived in the context of the vulnerabilities of the Portuguese coast after the loss of strongholds in North Africa and the intensification of attacks by pirates and privateers, the fortress emerged in the 17th century as a response to a transforming defensive system.

Through the articulation of documentary sources, photogrammetric surveys, and stratigraphic analysis of the building, it demonstrates how this monument, often neglected by historiography, constitutes a complex material archive, marked by successive construction campaigns, key events, and functional adaptations.

The lecture will also explore the impact of natural phenomena (such as the earthquakes of the 18th century) and anthropogenic processes, including adaptation to tourism in the 20th century, on the transformation of the structure and its archaeological reading.

Finally, it discusses the contribution of architectural archaeology to the study of military heritage, advocating for the need for interdisciplinary approaches to understand, value, and rehabilitate these historical spaces.

Bruna Ramalho Galamba is an archaeologist and science communicator, currently a PhD student in Archaeology specializing in Maritime Archaeology at NOVA FCSH, where she conducts research on the maritime fortresses of the Algarve between the 15th and 18th centuries.

This lecture is part of the cycle “Paths of Memory, Identity, and Power,” promoted by the Ibero-Atlantic Culture Institute (ICIA), curated by Maria da Graça A. Mateus Ventura.