The Spanish-Portuguese border extends from the lower Minho River to the north of the mouth of the Guadiana River and ends 1214 km further down the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the oldest borders in Europe. The current delimitation, called « La Raya » in Spanish and « A Raia » in Portuguese, is almost identical to that defined in 1297 by the Treaty of Acaéices. This part of the border therefore remains undefined, since Portugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory, but the subject does not create any particular tensions in relations between the two countries. Spain – The border of Gibraltar is 1200 meters long and one of the shortest in the world. The status of Gibraltar is a point of disagreement between Spain and the United Kingdom. In 1910, the British built a fence that they believed was a metre away in their part of neutral territory. Later, the Spaniards denied that it was in fact two metres from their territory. There is disagreement over where the border should be, with the British, who argue that their ownership on the 800m strip of the isthmus is based on the starting position of the border fortresses and de facto ownership.
The northern half of the neutral territory was also taken over by Spain in the 1960s, under the rule of dictator Francisco Franco, and is now an integral part of the Spanish commune of La Lenea de la Concepcién. Between 1969 and 1982, the Franco border was closed, local pedestrians were allowed to cross the border in 1982, while in 1985 the border was opened to vehicle traffic. Today, 12,000 citizens travel to Gibraltar every day to work. My report on Gibraltar is here. The survey and map representation of this Luso-Spanish [border] wheel was designed for the first time under the aegis of King D. Manuel II, the result of the work of Duarte D`Armas between 1509 and 1510, the famous Livro das Fortalezas, in which the plants and views of the Portuguese border fortress are drawn. The Double Ravelin is the most elaborate Vauban vorwerk (with a Ravelin and demilunes and ditches that are connected by a drawbridge and which still feature the vaulted poster with a curved plant). The Ravelin du Paiol has two buildings (magazine and chapel), with ramp to the ditch. At the Ravelin de Santo Antonio, as on the Ravelin de Sao Francisco (in the curtain center between the Bullwarks of Sao Francisco and Séo Pedro), there is the double outer door of Sao Francisco or Cruz.
There and as part of the materialization of the defense of the border of the Minho River, King Sancho I, at the beginning of the 13th century, there is the medieval fortified village of Valena, called Contrasta at the time. In 1297 she received a charter letter from D. Afonso II, confirmed in 1262 by King Afonso II, who changed her name to Valena (her current name). With regard to Ciudad Rodrigo, Almeida is from the beginning the main anchor of the definition of the borders of the Portuguese state, which has the border with the oldest borders and the peace treaty still in force – the Treaty of Alcanizes, 1297, which is therefore directly associated with the idea of national identity of Portugal.