Architecture In Portugal

[Julia Dodoo]

Portuguesearchitecture refers to both the architecture of Portugal's modern-day territory in Continental Portugal, the Azores and Madeira, as well as the architectural heritage/patrimony of Portuguese architects and styles throughout the world, particularly in countries formerly part of the Portuguese Empire.

Like all aspects of Portuguese culture, Portuguese architecture reflects the artistic influences of the various cultures that have either inhabited Portugal or come in contact with the Portuguese people throughout the history of Portugal, including the Gallaecians, Lusitanians, Celtiberians, Romans, Suebi, Visigoths, Moors, Goans, Macanese, Kristang people, and many more. Because of the history of the Portuguese Empire, several countries across the world are home to sizable heritages of Portuguese colonial architecture, notably Brazil and Uruguay in the Americas, Angola, Cabo Verde, So Tom and Prncipe, Benin, Ghana, Morocco, Guinea Bissau, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique in Africa, and China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Timor Leste in Asia.

Starting around the 6th century BC, Northern Portugal, as well as neighbouring Galicia, saw the development of the Celtic Castro culture (cultura castreja). This region was dotted with hillfort villages (called citnias or cividades) that for the most part continued to exist under Roman domination, when the area became incorporated into the province of Gallaecia. Notable archaeological castro sites are the Citnia de Sanfins, near Paos de Ferreira, Citnia de Briteiros and Citnia de Sabroso [pt], near Guimares, and the Cividade de Terroso, near Pvoa do Varzim. For defensive reasons, these hillforts were built over elevated terrain and were surrounded by rings of stone walls (Terroso had three wall rings). The houses inside the castros are about 3.5 to 5 meters long, mostly circular with some rectangular, stone-made and with thatch roofs which rested on a wood column in the centre of the building. Their streets are somewhat regular, suggesting some form of central organization. Baths were built in some of them, like in Briteiros and Sanfins.

Architecture developed significantly in the 2nd century BC with the arrival of the Romans, who called the Iberian Peninsula Hispania. Conquered settlements and villages were often modernised following Roman models, with the building of a forum, streets, theatres, temples, baths, aqueducts and other public buildings. An efficient array of roads and bridges was built to link the cities and other settlements.

Braga (Bracara Augusta) was the capital of the Gallaecia province and still has vestiges of public baths, a public fountain (called Idol's Fountain) and a theatre. vora boasts a well-preserved Roman temple, probably dedicated to the cult of Emperor Augustus. A Roman bridge crosses the Tmega River by the city of Chaves (Aquae Flaviae). Lisbon (Olissipo) has the remains of a theatre in the Alfama neighbourhood.

The best-preserved remains of a Roman village are those of Conimbriga, located near Coimbra. The excavations revealed city walls, baths, the forum, an aqueduct, an amphitheatre, and houses for the middle classes (insulae), as well as luxurious mansions (domus) with central courtyards decorated with mosaics. Another important excavated Roman village is Mirbriga, near Santiago do Cacm, with a well preserved Roman temple, baths, a bridge and the vestiges of the only Roman hippodrome known in Portugal.

In the hinterland, wealthy Romans established villae, country houses dedicated to agriculture. Many villae contained facilities likes baths and were decorated with mosaics and paintings. Important sites are the Villae of Pises (near Beja), Torre de Palma (near Monforte) and Centum Cellas (near Belmonte). The latter has the well-preserved ruins of a three-storey tower which was part of the residence of the villa owner.

Other pre-Romanesque churches broadly attributed to a mixture of Asturian and Mozarabic features are So Pedro de Balsemo, near Lamego, with a basilica floorplan, and the Chapel of So Gio, near Nazar, all of which are disputed by some authors as buildings of Visigoth origin, having had additional features incorporated at a later stage. The inner spaces of these buildings are all divided by typical horseshoe arches. The Visigothic Saint Frutuoso Chapel was also modified in the 10th century, when the arm chapels were given a round floorplan and horseshoe arches.

The invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in the year 711 by Moors from the Maghreb put an end to Visigoth rule in Hispania, called Al-Andalus by the newcomers. Moorish presence influenced art and architecture, especially in Southern Portugal, where the Reconquista was completed in 1249. Buildings during that period were often constructed with rammed earth (taipa) and adobe techniques, followed by whitewashing. Traditional houses in cities and villages in Portugal may have simple, white faades evoking Islamic influence. Some Southern neighbourhoods like the old Alfama district in Lisbon, have retained the street layouts from Muslim times. Contrasting with neighbouring Spain however, very few Islamic buildings in Portugal have survived intact to this day.

Another notable Islamic castle in the Algarve is Paderne Castle, whose ruined walls evidence the taipa building technique used in its construction. The Sintra Moorish Castle near Lisbon, has also kept some remains of walls and a cistern from that time. Part of the Moorish city walls have been preserved in Lisbon (the so-called Cerca Velha) and vora, and Moorish city gates with a characteristic horseshoe-arched profile can be found in Faro and Elvas.

Many mosques were built in Portuguese territory during Muslim domination, but virtually all were either destroyed or altered and turned into churches and cathedrals.The only clear example of a former mosque in Portugal is present-day Mrtola's Main Church, initially Mrtola Mosque built in the 12th century. Once the village was reconquered, the mosque was partially altered and converted into a church. Its interior has a nearly square-shaped floorplan with 4 aisles, and a total of 12 columns supporting a subsequent 16th-century Manueline rib vaulting, modifications to the roof, and removal of aisles added Christian architectural features to the structure. Despite the changes, the original labyrinthic interior with its "forest" of pillars, three horseshoe arches with an alfiz the inner wall with a decorated niche, a mihrab pointing to Mecca, all show the same contemporary Islamic features found in Spain and the Mahgreb.

The Romanesque style was introduced in Portugal between the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century. The most influential of the first Portuguese Romanesque monuments were Braga Cathedral and the Monastery of Rates. The Cathedral of Braga was rebuilt in the 1070s by bishop Pedro and consecrated in 1089, although only the apse was finished at the time. The bishop's ambitious plan was to create a pilgrimage church, with a three aisled nave, an ambulatory and a large transept. A relic of this early project may be a small Eastern chapel located nowadays outside the church itself.

Building activity gained pace after 1095, when Count Henry took possession of the Condado Portucalense. Count Henry came to Portugal with a number of noblemen and also Benedictine monks of Cluny Abbey, which was headed by Henry's brother, Hugh. The Benedictines and other religious orders gave great impulse to Romanesque architecture during the whole 12th century. Count Henry sponsored the building of the Monastery of Rates (begun in 1096), one of the fundamental works of the first Portuguese Romanesque, although the project was modified several times during the 12th century. The relevance of its architecture and sculptures with diverse architectural influences make this temple a case study that is reflected in the production of further Romanesque art of the nascent kingdom of Portugal.

All Portuguese Romanesque cathedrals were later extensively modified with the exception of the Cathedral of Coimbra (begun 1162), which has remained unaltered. Coimbra Cathedral is a Latin cross church with a three-aisled nave, a transept with short arms and three East chapels. The central aisle is covered by a stone barrel vaulting while the lateral aisles are covered by groin vaults. The second storey of the central aisle has an arched gallery (triforium), and the crossing is topped by a dome. This general scheme is related to that of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, although the Coimbra building is much less ambitious.

Lisbon Cathedral (begun c.1147) is very similar to Coimbra Cathedral, except that the West faade is flanked by two massive towers, a feature observed in other cathedrals like Oporto and Viseu. In general, Portuguese cathedrals had a heavy, fortress-like appearance, with crenellations and little decoration apart from portals and windows.

A remarkable religious Romanesque building is the Round Church (Rotunda) in the Castle of Tomar, which was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Templar Knights. The church is a round structure with a central arched octagon, and was probably modelled after the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which was mistakenly believed by the crusaders to be a remnant of the Temple of Solomon. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem may also have served as model.

Gothic architecture was brought to Portugal by the Cistercian Order. The first fully Gothic building in Portugal is the church of the Monastery of Alcobaa, a magnificent example of the clear and simple architectural forms favoured by the Cistercians. The church was built between 1178 and 1252 in three phases, and seems inspired by the Abbey of Clairvaux, in the Champagne. Its three aisles are very tall and slender, giving an exceptional impression of height. The whole church is covered by rib vaulting and the main chapel has an ambulatory and a series of radiant chapels. The vault of the ambulatory is externally supported by flying buttresses, typical features of Gothic architecture and a novelty at the time in Portugal.

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