English
Fort And Chapel of Our Lady Of Penha
Karanja [Caranjá/Uran], Mumbai Metropolitan Area (Bombay), India
Military Architecture
The fortification of Our Lady of Penha of Karanja developed around a hermitage or chapel of the same name situated on top of a hill in the southern part of the Karanja Peninsula. This territory on the east side of Mumbai’s bay had a significant Portuguese presence from 1534 to 1739, especially due to the exploitation of salt pans. Its main settlement, now called Uran, was defended by the Fort of Saint Michael of Karanja, which has entirely disappeared. The captain of the cassabé of Karanja, pertaining to the Vasai district of the Província do Norte, lived inside the fort. The peninsula boasted at least five religious structures besides the Chapel of Our Lady of Penha; in 1621 they were arranged in two parishes dependent on Franciscan missioners. The Penha chapel existed by 1604. The surrounding fortification, however, probably dates from the Luso- Maratha war in 1683-84, when the Portuguese were then besieged on top of the hill for three months. In 1686 work on a cistern continued inside the fortification perimeter, on the orders of Viceroy Francisco de Távora. A 1728 report indicated six artillery pieces in the defence structure, garrisoned by 50 soldiers. The climb up to the ruins of the chapel and fortification of Our Lady of Penha is via narrow winding stairs on the north side of Dronagiri hill, about a kilometre south of Uran. Just inside the fort’s entrance is an open ground with cisterns and ruins of the chapel, which has two bell towers and a rather sober façade. The interior is vaulted throughout, in both the altar area and the nave, which demonstrates the importance of this religious structure. Descriptions from that time indicate that the chapel was lined inside with ex votos portraying miracles attributed to the image of Our Lady. Behind the left bell tower are vestiges of annexes to the chapel. Several Hindu sacred sites are currently located in the area of Dronagiri hill. They were probably reactivated in 1739, when the successors of Kanhoji Angre conquered the Karanja Peninsula. In 1774 the English occupied the peninsula and installed a lighthouse over the Portuguese fort’s structures.