Gonçalo Melo da Silva

Gonçalo Melo da Silva is a lecturer in Medieval History at NOVA University of Lisbon – School of Social Sciences and Humanities (NOVA FCSH) and an integrated researcher in the Institute for Medieval Studies (IEM, NOVA FCSH). Since 2026, he has served as coordinator of the research group Territories and Powers Research Group: a “glocal” perspective. He holds a PhD in Medieval History and a European Doctorate from NOVA FCSH, with a focus on the Algarve port towns between 1249 and 1521. He has participated in 13 national and international projects and is a member of the scientific committee of the UNESCO Chair: The Cultural Heritage of the Oceans. He was also CO-PI of the project Think big on small frontier towns: Alto Alentejo and Alta Extremadura Leonesa (13th-16th centuries), funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Portuguese Research Council), between 2020 and 2025. His research interests focus on medieval, maritime, and urban history, as well as Digital Humanities, with the medieval town as the centre of his work. His research centres mainly on relations between space and power in the urban contexts of medieval Portugal, especially ports, small and frontier towns and urban hierarchies.

E-mail
gmsilva@fcsh.unl.pt