Medieval Architecture The origin of Porto is linked to the Morro da Sé (Cathedral Hill), overlooking the Douro river, where traces of an ancient settlement have been identified. The Romans brought a great boom to a city, which was elevated to diocese status during the Visigothic period. The city suffered great setbacks after the Moorish invasions, with is territory being recaptured by Vímara Peres at the end of the 9th century. D. Teresa, mother of the first King of Portugal, donated the land of Porto to Bishop D. Hugo, who bestowed its first charter in 1123. The development of commercial activity led to the progressive urbanisation of the riverbank area and in the second half of the 14th century the borough is encircled by a second city wall. Commerce with the exterior grew, not only in the direction of the northern ports, but also to the Mediterranean. The control of the resources of the city, specifically the profits from the port, led to a conflict between the Bishop and the Crown. The construction of the Custom-House in 1324 represented a severe blow to the interests of the Bishop. In 1405, D. João transferred the jurisdiction of the borough to the Crown. This was a period that consolidated local power with the support of the bourgeois merchants. The opening of Rua Nova marked a new phase in the urbanisation of the city and its localisation reflected the importance given to the downtown area, which was until this century the main commercial area of the city. Medieval Porto was home to Afonso Martins Alho (negotiator of the Treaty with England), Henry the Navigator and Pero Vaz de Caminha (author of the “Chart of the Discovery of Brazil”). The architectonic civil and military examples of this time are the following: Torre Medieval (Medieval Tower) Casa da Câmara (Town Hall) Beco dos Redemoinhos House Muralha Primitiva (Primitive Wall) Muralha Fernandina: trecho dos Guindais (Ferdinand Wall: Guindais section) Torre do Barredo (Barredo Tower) Muro dos cobertos da Ribeira (Wall of the Ribeira covered sheds) Postigo do Carvão (Carvão Wicket Gate) Casa do Infante (House of the Prince) Casa da Bolsa do Comércio (Stock Exchange House) Rua da Reboleira House Muralha Fernandina: trecho do Caminho Novo (Ferdinand Wall: Caminho Novo section) Confraria do Espírito Santo Hospital Torre de Pedro Sem (Pedro Sem Tower) From the medieval religious architecture the following examples remain: Cathedral Santa Clara Church S. Francisco Church Cedofeita Church
Nicolau Nasoni was born on 2 June 1691, in S. Giovani Valdarno, close to Florence, Italy. After several artistical activities in Siena, Rome and Malta, he takes on the responsibility for the blueprint and construction of the church that the Clérigos Bortherhood, a result of the fusion of the three Brotherhoods, intended to hoist in the city of Porto, Portugal. Nasoni set himself in Porto, the city where he married and died on 30 August 1773. The whole baroque set of the Clérigos church-building-tower is its masterpiece, although he also showed his artistic genius in other works. Nicolau Nasoni began his artistic life mainly as a painter but he also created various ephemeral architecture works that granted him some notoriety in Sienna. Engaged to paint Porto’s Cathedral, Nasoni would soon become a sublime architect, perhaps stimulated by the magnificence and scenery virtues of the northern granite. The church façades are a real testimony of his “theatrical” sensibility and of the architectonic importance that Nasoni gave to his creations. His intervention in the old Porto borough contributed to a radical transformation of the city’s image. Nasoni lived in a time of renovation for both Portugal and Porto. He lived in a time of economical and cultural vitality. Churches and palaces were built under his guidance throughout the whole region around Porto.
Baroque is reflected in Porto in innumerable expressive buildings of civil and religious architecture. Architects such as António Pereira and Nicolau Nasoni gave the city some of the most representative examples of this style, calling forth a complete transformation of the urban landscape in the seventeen hundreds. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries the city resembled a “workshop” of artists and craftsmen, who produced a significant collection of works of high aesthetic value. The virtuosity of Nicolau Nasoni, an Italian artist who studied in Sienna and Rome, is mostly shown in the art he used to work with granite, in buildings such as the Igreja and Torre dos Clérigos, the façade of the Igreja da Misericórdia and the Palácio do Freixo. The Cathedral, of Romanesque origin, was one of the first buildings to undergo baroque adaptations, as can be seen in the main altar, crypt, vestry and cloisters. One of the most salient characteristics of the new style is the polychromatism and exuberance of forms. The combination of golden revetments with paintings and azulejos (the traditional blue-painted illustrated tiles that are found all over Porto), created an atmosphere of unforgettable beauty. The gilt carvings, one of the most vibrant expressions of Porto baroque, are shown at their best in the retables of the churches of S. Francisco and Santa Clara. Besides these, the following religious buildings are also worthy of notice: Cathedral Paço Episcopal (Bishop’s Palace) Casa do Cónego Domingos Barbosa (House of Canon Domingos Barbosa) Santa Clara Church S. Francisco Church and Casa do Despacho Misericórdia Church Façade Clérigos Church and Tower Terceiros do Carmo Church Ordem do Terço Church Santo Ildefonso Church Nossa Senhora da Esperança Church The S. João Novo Palace is perhaps the most significant example of the baroque civil architecture.
In the course of the second half of the 18th century Porto underwent great urban and architectonic transformations. Under the guidance of João de Almada e Melo, a plan was laid out which foresaw the renovation of the old city and the structuring of zones that had developed outside the city walls. The co-ordination of the building work was a responsibility of the Junta das Obras Públicas and was financed by a tax on the wine trade. The reconstruction of Praça da Ribeira, the opening of new roads and the creation of riverbank esplanades are signs of a new spirit and a taste for more open, lit spaces for both function and leisure. The construction of Hospital de Santo António, one of many buildings given to the city by the Almadas, introduced the neopalladian style to the city, which at the time was the dominating architecture in England. This is clearly shown by the influence of the English community, especially through the Consul, John Whitehead, creator of one of the structures that mark the era: the Feitoria Inglesa. These buildings already show solutions that would be used in the civil and religious buildings that followed: mezzanines, smooth-surfaced façades, classic colonnades and pediments, guillotine windows. The neo-classical civil buildings in Porto are the following: Praça da Ribeira (Ribeira Square) Feitoria Inglesa (English Factory) Palácio da Bolsa (Stock Exchange Palace) Edifício da Alfândega (Custom-House) Edifício da antiga Cadeia da Relação (Building of the former Court of Appeal Gaol) Edifício da antiga Academia Politécnica (Building of the former Polytechnic Academy) Hospital de Santo António (Santo António Hospital) Palácio dos Carrancas (Carrancas’ Palace) Edifício da antiga Casa Pia (Building of the former Casa Pia) The neoclassical religious buildings in Porto are the following: Terceiros de S. Francisco Church Nossa Senhora da Vitória Church Trindade Church Lapa Church
Neoclassicism is the translation of a revival stage in architecture, from the Roman to the Greek Revival, from the Gothic to the Renaissance Revival, from the Baroque to the Islamic Revival, and even the Revival of the 1940s. Some European and National movements see the past not as a source of inspiration but as a role model. The 19th century saw the blossom of a new aesthetic taste, which became known as neo-Islamism. Several small palaces and storey houses were built in Porto at the time, showing this style. They were located in the new areas of the city, like the Avenida da Boavista and the area located between Praça da Liberdade and Rua de Cedofeita. The most remarkable buildings of this style in Porto are the Warehouse of the Devesa Factory, in Rua José Falcão, the Orphanage and Nursery Emília de Jesus Costa, in Gaia, and as the most emblematic project, the Arabian Room at the Stock Exchange Palace, built between 1862 and 1880.
The Neo-Gothic did not have a great following among us. Examples such as the Pestanas’ Chapel in Rua do Almada are quite rare. The architect J. Macedo Araújo constructed this building between 1878 and 1888.
There is one building where the influence of the French architecture of the Fontainebleau school, which goes form the Renaissance to the Belle Époque, is better displayed – it is the São Bento Railway Station, built in 1900 by the architect Marques da Silva. In 1909 Marques da Silva built the most Parisian building in Porto: the St. John’s Theatre, inspired by the Louvre and the Charles Garnier Opera Houses. Following the same influence but denoting already a certain technical and aesthetic modernity are the Nascimento Warehouses, dating from 1914. These undertakings of great mastery and quality place Porto in the limelight of the period’s architecture. With regard to the interior architecture, the Fashion Shop Vicent, in Rua 31 de Janeiro, is worthy of mention, since it clearly reflects the influence of the Paris and Monte Carlo Opera Houses. Let us not forget that the architect Marques da Silva (1869-1947), was born in Porto and studied in Paris, letting the influence of the French architectonic culture appear in all his artistic creations. He was also the planner of the headquarters of the Martins Sarmento Society, in Guimarães, built around 1900, of neo-Romantic influence.
Examples of this new aesthetic tendency, consolidated in the second half of the 20th century, are the Alexandre Herculano and Rodrigues de Freitas secondary schools, projected by the architect Marques da Silva. With this new architectural tendency, new urban proposals developed. In Porto, the best example is the Avenida dos Aliados, which was started in the early 20th century, showing the Kaussmannian influence, with the City Hall closing the perspective. However, the most significant creation that denotes the second eclecticism of Art Nouveau tendency is the interior of the Lello Library, inaugurated in 1906. The building’s façade is neo-Gothic, with symbolist panels. The stairs are inspired by the ones of the Lafayette Galleries. The ensemble shows naturalist decorative elements, composed by the relief of writers, like Camilo Castelo Branco, Eça de Queirós and Guerra Junqueiro. The author of the library was Xavier Esteves, an Engineering teacher at the Porto’s Instituto Industrial e Comercial.
Architect born in Porto in 1869. He attended the Academia Portuense de Belas-Artes and moved to Paris where he graduated in Architecture, with honours. After his return to Portugal he became rapidly known thanks to the quantity and importance of his creations, some of which were awarded the silver and gold medals at the Paris Universal Exhibition (1900) and at Rio de Janeiro (1908). In 1907 he was appointed Architecture teacher at the Porto’s Escola de Belas-Artes, and in 1913 he became the school’s principal, a place he kept till his retirement in 1939. He is a merit academician of the Fine Arts Academies of Lisbon and Porto, a correspondent partner of the Academia Nacional de Belas-Artes and an officer of Ordem de Santiago. Among the monument projects that earned him first prize, are the ones of the Peninsular War, Marquês de Pombal and D. António Barroso, in Barcelos. He planned and built the new Martins Sarmento Foundation building, in Guimarães; the new St. John’s Theatre, in Porto; the central railway station of this city; the Alexandre Herculano and Rodrigues de Freitas secondary schools; the new Cedofeita church; and the S. Torcato and Penha temples, in Guimarães, besides a great number of modern buildings in Porto, among which the building of the insurance company “A Nacional”, at Praça da Liberdade, and the warehouse Nascimento, at Rua de Passos Manuel. He was also a teacher at the Porto’s Instituto Industrial e Comercial.
Born in 1923, he introduced, from the 1950s on, a cogitation until then non-existent in Portugal about the social role of architecture, in opposition to the accomplishments and official speeches of that time. Creator of a new construction logic, he paid great attention to the original landscape, using it as cultural data that had to be integrated in the dialogue with the finished work. Fernando Távora was also responsible for the pioneer intervention in the heritage recovery field that took place in Bairro Central do Barredo from 1973 to 1974. Siza Vieira, Gomes Fernandes and Viana Lima accompanied him. The architect is also responsible for the following buildings: Santa Marinha Hostel, in Guimarães (1976-1985) Cedro’s Primary School, in Vila Nova de Gaia (1958-1960) Aveiro’s Town Hall (1963-1965)
Obras perto do Porto:
- Pousada de Santa Marinha em Guimarães (1972-1985)
- Escola Primária do Cedro, em Vila Nova de Gaia (1958-1960)
- Câmara Municipal de Aveiro (1963-1965).
Born in 1933, Álvaro Siza is the most international of the Porto architects: he was charged with the Chiado reconstruction in Lisbon, after the 1988 fire. His talent was honoured in Paris with an exhibition of his creations at the George Pompidou Centre in 1990. The creative talent of Álvaro Siza manages to unite social preoccupations and an extremely pure poetical freedom. Buildings in Porto and in the outskirts: Quatro Casas Matosinhos Salão Paroquial de Matosinhos Matosinhos Casa Carneiro de Melo Porto Casa de Chã - Restaurante Boa Nova Leça da Palmeira Piscina Quinta da Conceição Leça da Palmeira Casa Rocha Ribeiro Maia Cooperativa de Lordelo Porto Piscina de Mar Leça da Palmeira Casa Alves Santos Póvoa do Varzim Casa Ferreira da Costa Matosinhos Casa Alves Costa Moledo do Minho Casa Manuel Magalhães Porto Residências Caxinas - Vila do Conde Casa Alcino Cardoso Moledo do Minho Banco Pinto & Sotto Mayor Oliveira de Azeméis Banco Pinto & Sotto Mayor Lamego Casa Beires Póvoa do Varzim Habitação Social Saal - São Victor Porto Habitação Social Saal - Bouça Porto Casa António Carlos Santo Tirso Habitações Sociais Quinta da Malagueira - Évora Banco Borges & Irmão Vila do Conde Casa Margarida Praia da Aguda - Arcozelo Casa José Teixeira Quinta do Forno Taipas - Briteiros - Guimarães Casa Avelino Duarte Ovar Boutique Nina Porto Jardim Escola João de Deus Penafiel Casa Luis Figueiredo Valbom - Gondomar Pavilhão Carlos Ramos Faculdade de Arquitectura Porto Escola Superior de Educação Setúbal Faculdade de Arquitectura Oliveira de Azeméis Casa César Rodrigues Porto Biblioteca Universidade de Aveiro Aveiro Loja de Móveis Carvalho Araújo Lisboa Depósito de Água Universidade de Aveiro Aveiro Recuperação da Zona Sinistrada do Chiado Lisboa Complexo Paroquial Fornos - Marco de Canavezes Edifício " Ferreira de Castro " Oliveira de Azeméis Edifício "Câmara Chaves" Lisboa Edifício Castro & Melo Lisboa Edifício "Grandella" Lisboa ANJE - Associação Nacional de Jovens Empresários Algés - Lisboa Banco Pinto & Sotto Mayor Fundação Manuel Cargaleiro Lisboa Escritórios Álvaro Siza, Eduardo Souto Moura, Fernando Távora e Rogério Cavaca Porto
Economical, social, political and cultural changes were responsible for the new aesthetical movements and tendencies that would originate the Porto modern architecture of the 1920s. The regenerator movement of the Porto modern architecture was due mainly to Marques da Silva, Tomás Augusto Soller and Francisco de Oliveira Ferreira, among others. Bearing in mind this concept of Modern Architecture we will introduce the most representative aesthetical expressions and movements that make Porto not only a city that follows the European and national directives but also a pioneer space that knew how to innovate with great mastery, assuming the role of preceding movement of the national and international architectonic evolution.
This style did not have many followers in Portugal. National artists and architects of this time were not involved exclusively in this movement. However, there is a regeneration in the field of decorative arts, which interferes occasionally in architecture. Art Nouveau in Portugal appears as an interpretation of the French model, applied to the characteristics of the national art. Porto does not have many Art Nouveau examples. The most significant buildings are No. 22, Rua Galeria de Paris, all in stone, with a big Chinese-style window that recalls the creations of the French architect Hankar, and buildings No. 75 and 79, Rua Cândido dos Reis, with large metallic revetments probably influenced by the work of Victor Horta. Iron is an architectonic manifestation of Art Nouveau and it will be seen as a model of the language of that time. This material is widely used in the Palácio de Cristal, built by the English Thomas Dillen Jones in 1865. The Mercado Ferreira Borges, an iron building of 1885, is a national rarity because of its specific urban role. Iron turned out to easily agree with the landscape. It was used quite well in the bridges of Porto: D. Maria Bridge, a 1876 project by Gustave Eiffel, and D. Luis Bridge, planned by Seyrig in 1886. The suited association of iron and glass created an effect of exquisite delicacy which is present, for instance, in the Pátio das Nações of the Palácio da Bolsa, a work by Tomás Soller (1891) and in the São Bento Railway Station, inaugurated in 1903 and planned by Marques da Silva.
There is a cause and effect relation between the Portuguese architecture and the political regime that ruled from 1926 to 1974 and which is known as Estado Novo (New State). During that period there is a certain slowness on the State’s side to accept the new architectonic proposals that were born among some architects who tried to develop the foundations of modern architecture. Those were the architects of the year 1927, known as the Commitment Generation. This movement will seek the State’s support to develop and assert this new kind of architecture. One of the leaders of the group was the architect Carlos Ramos (1897-1969). He became headmaster of the Porto’s Escola Superior de Belas-Artes in 1952, and implemented and inaugurated a new pedagogical orientation there. Another architect of that time in Porto was Rogério de Azevedo, who contributed greatly to the modern architecture in Portugal. He planned the Comércio do Porto’s Garage, which has an innovative style. In the late 1920s, there is a hesitating start of a new architectural mentality. It announced a more modern mind in architecture, linked to several new programmes that were starting to appear in the capital. The most progressive tendencies in architecture will be delineated after World Ward II, increasing after 1948. In 1950 they are more consistent and settle definitely in Porto. In 1952, under Carlos Ramos’ guidance, there is an official education system of quality at the Escola Superior de Belas Artes. This school will be the only one, nation-wide, to have a high pedagogical prestige for decades. Such names as Viana de Lima, Filgueiras, Távora, Andersen, Loureiro, Gusmão, Arnaldo Araújo, Siza Vieira worked for the prestige of the institution. In the 1960s, architecture links itself to sociological concepts. However, it is still ruled by an official orientation. Small ateliers will give a theoretical and practical contribution to modern architecture, living alongside urban speculation, which is felt strongly. In the 1970s, real estate speculation keeps on growing, dictating the construction rhythm. This is due on the one hand to the increasing tourism demand and on the other hand to the development of the industrial poles. Such realities will be a determinant factor for the creation of urban planning policies. Briefly, architecture, as it is known today, lives on the cities’ tertiary activities, with a growing need to create and adapt social and cultural facilities. Today, a significant architectonic tradition of international reputation is symbolised by the expression “School of Porto.” Porto architects pay great attention to design. It is always about a poetical meeting between the creative precision of form and the importance granted to the materials, a dynamic union of fiction and reality. During the 1980s, the Porto architects answered to the increasing solicitations of a growing market. Fernando Távora and Álvaro Siza are the most prominent names of the decade.
- Cerveira Hostel (adaptation of a fortress square), in Vila Nova de Cerveira (1972);
- Amadeo Sousa Cardoso Museum, in Amarante (1977);
- Matosinhos Town Hall (1981);
- Guerra Junqueiro Museum House.
Estrutura "tipo Contentor" - Museu dos Transportes e Comunicações
- Mercado Municipal de Braga (1980-1983;
- Casa das Artes - R. António Cardoso, 175;
- Porto Reconversão do Edifício da Alfândega - R. Nova da Alfândega - Porto.
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