Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon

The beach of Restelo at Belém gave ships entering the Tagus a safe anchorage sheltered from the wind, and monks of the Order of Christ kept a church there to assist seafarers. In 1496 King Manuel I asked the Holy See for permission to build a monastery on the site. In 1497 Vasco da Gama and his men spent the night in prayer in the old church before sailing for India. Construction began in the early 16th century, funded by a 5 percent tax on trade with Africa and the East.

Manuel gave the monastery to the Hieronymite monks, who prayed for the king and gave spiritual help to departing sailors. The architect Diogo de Boitaca shaped it in the richly carved, sea-themed style later called Manueline. Work stopped at Manuel's death in 1521 and again in 1580, when the union of Spain and Portugal diverted the money to the Escorial. The monastery was secularized on 28 December 1833, and in 1880 the remains of Vasco da Gama and the poet Luís de Camões were moved to new tombs in its church.

To guard the river mouth, Manuel I ordered a fort on the north bank. Designed by the military architect Francisco de Arruda, the tower was built on a small rocky island near the shore, finished in 1519 and named the Castle of St Vincent after Lisbon's patron saint. In 1580 its garrison surrendered to Spanish forces under the Duke of Alba after a few hours of fighting, and its dungeons served as a prison until 1830. The monastery and tower were inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1983.