Listed as a National Monument.
The Quintela Tower is one of the few examples of civil-military architecture that show the progress of the land-owning process in Trás-os-Montes. Its construction dates back at least to the 13th-14th centuries, although some authors argue that it was built later, well into the 15th century.
The Tower has a square layout about 12m wide, with a rather high elevation (over twenty metres tall), organised on 4 storeys.
Until the 19th century, the Quintela Tower remained in the possession of the Order of the Hospitallers, and was one of the main hallmarks of the Middle Ages, so much so that Camilo Castelo Branco was inspired by it for one of his novels.
The extinction of the Religious Orders in 1834 opened up a calamitous period in the Tower’s history, during which it was very nearly demolished. Recently, it was decided to convert it into a museum centre, and it underwent a complete refurbishment in the early 1980s.
Location: Vila Real
