Category: Civil Architecture > Pillory
District: Viseu > Nelas > Vilar Seco
The Pillory of Vilar Seco stands in the heart of the locality of Vilar Seco, in the municipality of Nelas, district of Viseu. The monument is isolated in the center of a wide square, a confluence point where several roads meet, giving it a prominent presence in the village's urban environment.
This monument, classified as a Property of Public Interest, is a testament to the autonomy and judicial power that Vilar Seco once held. In past centuries, pillories were visible symbols of municipal authority, places where edicts were posted and public acts of justice were carried out. The history of this landmark dates back to the early 16th century, more precisely to 1514, when a new charter granted to Senhorim, of which Vilar Seco was the municipal seat, led to the construction of its original pillory. It represented the administrative and judicial importance that the settlement held in the region.
The structure observed today at the Pillory of Vilar Seco, although a 20th-century reconstruction, keeps alive the memory of its predecessor and local history. It is entirely built of granite ashlar, with an octagonal base of three steps rising from the pavement.
Above this, rises a prismatic shaft with eight smooth faces.
The top of the pillory is crowned by an open cage-shaped finial, composed of eight low colonnettes resting on an octagonal cup. Above this, there is a polygonal dome-shaped cover, adorned with a circular molding and two stepped spheres, culminating in a pinnacle topped by a heraldic element. The reconstruction, carried out in 1949, was an effort to re-erect this symbol, based on the only original piece remaining and a conjectural drawing, highlighting the symbolic and historical value of this monument for the community.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 40.560267,-7.865267
Coordinates DMS: 40°33'37.0"N 07°51'55.0"W
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