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Architecture of Portugal
Architecture of Portugal refers to the architecture practised in the territory of present-day Portugal since before the foundation of the country in the 12th century. The term may also refer to buildings created under Portuguese influence or by Portuguese architects in other parts of the world, particularly in the Portuguese Empire. Portuguese architecture, like all aspects of Portuguese culture, is marked by the history of the country and the several peoples that have settled and influenced the current Portuguese territory. These include Romans, Cloisters of Jernimos Monastery in Lisbon, built in Manueline style in the 1520s. Germanic peoples and Arabs, as well as the influence from the main European artistic centres from which were introduced to the broad architectural styles: Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassicism. Among the main local manifestations of Portuguese architecture are the Manueline, the exuberant Portuguese version of late Gothic; and the Pombaline style, a mix of late Baroque and Neoclassicism that developed after the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755. In the 20th century, Portuguese architecture has produced a number of renowned personalities like Fernando Tvora, Eduardo Souto de Moura and, especially, lvaro Siza.
Early architecture
Megaliths
The earliest examples of architectural activity in Portugal date from the Neolithic and consist of structures associated with Megalith culture. The Portuguese hinterland is dotted with a large number of dolmens (called antas or dlmens), tumuli (mamoas) and menhirs. The Alentejo region is particularly rich in megalithic monuments, like the notable Anta Grande do Zambujeiro, located near vora. Standing stones can be found isolated or forming circular arrays (stone circles or cromlechs). The Almendres Cromlech, also located near vora, is the largest of the Iberian Peninsula, containing nearly 100 menhirs arranged in two elliptical arrays on an East-West orientation.
Pre-Roman villages
Architecture of Portugal Pre-historic fortified villages dating from the Chalcolithic are found along the Tagus river like that of Vila Nova de So Pedro, near Cartaxo, and the Castro do Zambujal, near Torres Vedras. These sites were occupied in the period around the years 2500-1700 BC and were surrounded by stone walls and towers, a sign of the conflictivity of the time. Starting around the 6th century BC, Northwest Portugal, as well as neighbouring Galicia in Spain, saw the development of the 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 sites are the Citnia de Sanfins, near Paos de Ferreira, Citnia de Briteiros, Iron age house in Citnia de Briteiros 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). Houses were round in shape with walls made of stone without mortar, while the roofs were made of grass shoots. Baths were built in some of them, like in Briteiros and Sanfins.
Roman period
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 Roman Temple of vora 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.
Architecture of Portugal
3 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.
Pre-Romanesque
Roman domination in Hispania was ended with the invasions by Germanic peoples (especially Sueves and Visigoths) starting in the 5th century AD. Very few buildings survive from the period of Visigoth domination (c.580-770), most of them modified in subsequent centuries. One of these is the small Saint Frutuoso Chapel, near Braga, which was part of a Visigothic monastery built in the 7th century. The building has a Greek cross floorplan with rectangular arms and a central cupola; both the cupola and the arms of the chapel are decorated with arch reliefs. The chapel shows clear influences of Byzantine buildings like the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna. After 711, in the period of dominance of the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors, the Christian Kingdom of Asturias (c.711-910), Saint Frutuoso Chapel near Braga, a Greek cross building of located in the Northern part of the peninsula, was a centre of Byzantine influence (7th century). resistance (see Reconquista). In addition, many Christians (Mozarabs) lived in Moorish territories and were allowed to practicise their religion and build churches. Asturian architecture and Mozarabic art influenced Christian buildings in the future Portuguese territory, as seen on the few structures that have survived from this time. The most important of these is the Church of So Pedro de Lourosa, located near Oliveira do Hospital, which bears an inscription that gives 912 as the year of its construction. The church is a basilica with three aisles separated by horseshoe arches, a narthex on the faade and mullioned, horseshoe-shaped windows of Asturian influence on the central aisle. Other preromanesque churches built under Asturian and Mozarabic influence are So Pedro de Balsemo, near Lamego, with a basilica floorplan, and the Chapel of So Gio, near Nazar, although some authors consider that these buildings may be of Visigoth origin. 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 flooplan and horseshoe arches.
Architecture of Portugal
Moorish period
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 strongly influenced art and architecture in Portuguese territory, especially in Southern Portugal, where the Reconquista was only finished in 1249. However, in contrast to neighbouring Spain, few Islamic buildings in Portugal have survived intact to this day. Traditional houses in many cities and villages in Portugal have simple, white faades that lend the ensemble of streets and neighbourhoods a distinct Islamic look, similar to that of villages in Northern Africa. Many villages and city neighbourhoods have retained the street layout from Islamic times, like the Alfama in Lisbon. Moorish buildings were often constructed with the rammed earth (taipa) and adobe techniques, followed by whitewashing.
Castles
The Moors built strong castles and fortifications in many cities but, although many Portuguese mediaeval castles originated in the Islamic period, most of them have been extensively remodelled after the Christian reconquest. One of the best-preserved is Silves Castle, located in Silves, the ancient capital of the Al-Garb, today's Algarve. Built between the 8th and 13th centuries, Silves Castle has preserved its walls and square-shaped towers from the Moorish period, as well as 11th-century cisterns - water reservoirs used in case of a siege. The old Moorish centre of the city - the Almedina was defended by a wall and several fortified towers and gates, parts of which are still preserved. 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 preserved rests of walls and a cistern from Moorish times. Part of the Moorish city walls have been preserved in Lisbon (the so-called Cerca Velha) and vora. Moorish city gates with a characteristic horseshoe-arched profile can be found in Faro and Elvas.
Main gate (Porta de Loul) of the old Moorish city centre (Almedina) of Silves.
Mosques
Many mosques were built all over Portuguese territory during Muslim domination, but virtually all of these have been turned into churches and cathedrals, and Islamic features cannot be identified anymore. Thus, the Cathedrals of Lisbon, Silves and Faro, for instance, are probably built over the remains of the great mosques after the Reconquista. The only exception to this rule is the Main Church (Matriz) of Mrtola, in the Alentejo region. The Mrtola Mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century and, even though it has suffered several modifications, it is still the best-preserved mediaeval mosque in Portugal. Inside the church has an approximate square-shaped floorplan with 4 aisles with a total of 12 columns that support a 16th-century Manueline rib vaulting. Even though the roof has been modified and some aisles have been suppressed in the 16th century, the labyrinthic interior with its "forest" of pillars clearly relates to other contemporary mosques in Spain and Maghreb. The inner wall still has a mihrab, a decorated
View of Mrtola; the Main Church, formerly a mosque, is on the foreground.
Architecture of Portugal niche that indicates the direction of Mecca. In addition the church has three horseshoe arches with an alfiz, a typical Islamic decorative feature.
West faade of the church of the Benedictine Monastery of Rates (faade built in the second half of the 12th century).
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 c.1100), one of the fundamental works of the first Portuguese Romanesque, although the project was modified several times during the 12th century. The worshops of Braga and Rates were very influential in Northern Portugal. Extant 12th-century Romanesque monastic churches are found in Manhente (near Barcelos), with a portal dating from around 1117; Rio Mau (near Vila do Conde); with an exceptional apse dating from 1151; Travanca (near Amarante); Pao de Sousa (near Penafiel); Braves (near Ponte da Barca), Pombeiro (near Felgueiras) and many others. The spread of Romanesque in Portugal followed the North-South path of the Reconquista, specially during the reign of Afonso Henriques, Count Henry's son and first King of Portugal. In Coimbra, Afonso Henriques created the Santa Cruz Monastery, one of the most important of the monastic foundations of the time, although the current building is the result of a 16th century remodelling. Afonso Henriques and his successors also sponsored the building of many cathedrals in the bishop seats of the country. This generation of Romanesque cathedrals included the already-mentioned Braga, Oporto, Coimbra, Viseu, Lamego and Lisbon.
Faade of the Old Cathedral of Coimbra (begun 1162).
Architecture 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.
Almourol Castle, built c. 1171 on an island of the Tagus by the Templar Knights. The highest tower is the square-shaped keep of the castle.
Castles
The troubled times of the Portuguese Reconquista meant that many castles had to be built to protect villages from Moors and Castilians. King Afonso Henriques sponsored the building of many fortifications (often remodelling Moorish castles as Lisbon Castle) and granted land to Military Orders - specially the Templar Knights and the Knights Hospitallers - who became responsible for the defence of borders and villages. The Templar Knights built several fortresses along the line of the Tagus river, like the castles of Pombal, Tomar and Belver and Almourol. They are credited as having introduced the keep to Portuguese military architecture.
Architecture of Portugal
Architecture of Portugal In the early 15th century, the building of the Monastery of Batalha, sponsored by King John I, led to a renovation of Portuguese Gothic. After 1402, the works were trusted to Master Huguet, of unknown origin, who introduced the Flamboyant Gothic style to the project. The whole building is decorated with Gothic pinnacles (crockets), reliefs, large windows with intrincate tracery and elaborate crenellations. The main portal has a series of archivolts decorated with a multitude of statues, while the tympanum has a relief showing Christ and the Evangelists. The Founder's Chapel and the Chapter House have elaborate star-ribbed vaulting, unknown in Portugal until then. Batalha influenced 15th-century workshops like those of Guarda Cathedral, Silves Cathedral and monasteries in Beja (Nossa Senhora da Conceio) and Santarm (Convento da Graa). Another Gothic variant was the so-called Mudjar-Gothic, which developed in Portugal towards the end of the 15th century, specially in the Alentejo region. The name Mudjar refers to the influence of Islamic art in the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula, specially in the Middle Ages. In the Alentejo and elsewhere, Mudjar influence in several buildings is evident in the profile of windows and portals, often with horseshoe arches and a mullion, circular turrets with conical pinnacles, Islamic merlons etc., as well as tile (azulejo) decoration. Examples include the portico of St View of Bragana Castle. The large keep tower was built in Francis Church of vora, the courtyard of the Sintra Royal the 15th century. Palace and several churches and palaces in vora, Elvas, Arraiolos, Beja, etc. Mdejar eventually intermingled with the Manueline style in the early 16th century.
Architecture of Portugal
The first known building in Manueline style is the Monastery of Jesus of Setbal. The church of the monastery was built from 1490 to 1510 by Diogo Boitac, an architect considered one of the main creators of the style. The nave of the church has three aisles of equal height, revealing an attempt to unify inner space which reaches its climax in the nave of the church of the Jernimos Monastery in Lisbon, finished in the 1520s by architect Joo de Castilho. The nave of the Setbal Monastery is supported by spiralling columns, a typical Manueline feature that is also found in the nave of Guarda Cathedral and the parish churches of Olivenza, Freixo de Espada Cinta, Montemor-o-Velho and others. Manueline buildings also usually carry elaborate portals with spiralling columns, niches and loaded with Renaissance and Gothic decorative motifs, like in Jernimos Monastery, Santa Cruz Monastery of Coimbra and many others.
Architecture of Portugal However, the best known Portuguese architect in this period was Afonso lvares, whose works include the cathedrals of Leiria (15511574), Portalegre (begun 1556), and the Church of So Roque in Lisbon. During this period he evolved into the Mannerist style. This last church was completed by the Jesuit architect, the Italian Filippo Terzi, who also built the Jesuit college at vora, the Monastery of So Vicente de Fora in Lisbon and the episcopal palace in Coimbra. He had an enormous production and, besides churches, he also built several aqueducts and fortresses. In his wake came several Portuguese architects : Miguel de Arruda : Church of Our Lady of Grace (in vora) Baltasar lvares, best known for the S Nova in Coimbra and the Igreja de So Loureno in Porto. Francisco Velasquez : Cathedral of Mirando do Douro and the designs for the monastery of S. Salvador (Grij) the military architect Manuel Pires : St. Anton's church in vora.
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View of the Monastery of Tibes with the church faade, near Braga
Baltasar Alvares built some of the most impressive examples in this style : the S Nova of Coimbra (15981640), the S Loureno or Grilos church in Porto (begun 1614) and the church S Anto in Lisbon (16131656; now destroyed).. Other examples are the several Benedictine constructions in this period, such as the renovation by Joo Turriano of the Monastery of Tibes and the Monastery of So Bento (now the Portuguese Parliament). Francisco de Mora designed the convent of Nossa Senhora dos Remdios (vora) for the order of the Discalced Carmelites (16011614) Pedro Nunes Tinoco designed in 1616 the church of S Marta (Lisbon) for the Order of the Poor Clares. When king Filipe II made his Joyous Entry in Lisbon in 1619, several temporary triumphal arches were erected in the Flemish style of Hans Vredeman de Vries. The tract literature of Wendel Dietterlin[2] also increased the interest in Flemish Baroque architecture and art. This influence can be seen in the faade of the S Loureno or Grilos church in Porto, begun in 1622 by Baltasar Alvares. This was also the period of the rise of the azulejos and the use of carved gilded wood (talha dourada) on altars and ceilings.
Architecture of Portugal
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The next period, between 1690 and 1717, saw the cautious introduction of the Baroque style in Portugal. The Church of Santa Engrcia (now the National Pantheon of Santa Engracia), begun in 1682 by Joo Nunes Tinoco and continued by Joo Antunes is a centralised structure, built in the form of a Greek cross (a cross with arms of equal length), crowned with a central dome (only completed in 1966 !) and the faades are ondulated like in the Baroque designs of Borromini. . It goes back to a design by the Italian architect Donato Bramante of the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is perhaps the only truly Baroque building in Portugal. This time Rome, instead of Flanders, became the example to be followed for the construction of buildings. The church of Senhor da Cruz in Barcelos, built by Joo Antunes in 1701-1704 is an unusual experiment because of its four-leaf clover plan.
Architecture of Portugal
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Palace of Queluz
1728-1732 : the Quinta de S Anto do Tojal (by the Italian architect Antonio Canevari) 1753 : the Opera house of Lisbon (destroyed 1755) (by Giovanni Carlo Sicinio-Bibiena) (completed in 1750) Palace of Necessidades (by Eugenio dos Santos, Custodio Vieira, Manuel da Costa Negreiros and Caetano Tomas de Sousa) from 1747 : the Queluz Palace, the country residence for the king's younger brother (by Mateus Vicente de Oliveira and Jean-Baptiste Robillon). This palace is the country's second major example in Baroque style. However the faade shows already some Rococo details.
Architecture of Portugal
13 His most spectacular undertaking was however the building in Rome of the St John the Baptist chapel with the single purpose of obtaining the blessing of the pope Benedict XIV for this chapel. The chapel was designed by Luigi Vanvitelli in 1742 and built by Nicola Salvi in the church S Antonio dei Portoghesi. After the benediction, the chapel was disassembled and transported to Lisbon. It was assembled again in 1747 in the S Roque church. It is opulently decorated with porphyry, the rarest marbles and precious stones. Its design already foreshadows the classical revival.
A different and more exuberant Baroque style with some Rococo touches, more reminiscent of the style in Central Europe, developed in the northern part of Portugal. The Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni designed the church and the spectacular granite tower of So Pedro dos Clrigos in Porto. One of his successors was the painter and architect Jos de Figueiredo Seixas, who had been one of his disciples. The sanctuary Bom Jesus do Monte near Braga, built by the architect Carlos Luis Ferreira Amarante is a notable example of a pilgrimage site with a monumental, cascading Baroque stairway that climbs 116 metres. This last example already shows the shift in style to Neo-classicism. The Palcio do Raio (by Andr Soares) is an outstanding Baroque-Rococo urban palace with richly decorated faade in Braga. Several country houses and manors in late-Baroque style were built in this period. Typical examples are the homes of the Lobo-Machado family (in Guimares), the Malheiro (Viana do Castelo) and the Mateus (Vila Real).
Architecture of Portugal In Porto, at the initiative of the prison governor Joo de Almada e Melo, the Rua de S Joo was reconstructed (after 1757), and the Relao law court, the Court of Appeal Gaol (1765) and the prison were rebuilt. The British colony of port traders introduced the Palladian architecture in the Praa da Ribeira (17761782), the Factory House (17851790) and the S Antonio Hospital (1770).
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Modern Architecture
Portugals longstanding traditions, geographic isolation, extended period under an autoritarian government, along with a group of very talented architects, have kept Portuguese architecture clean of capricious imitations. Portugal has an architecture that carefully evolved within the local tradition through a balanced process of absorbing universal influences, until slowly emerging onto the center stage of the architecture world. One of the top architecture schools in the world, known Portuguese modern architecture: buildings at Parque das Naes, as "Escola do Porto" or School of Porto, is located in Lisbon Portugal. Its alumni include Fernando Tvora, lvaro Siza (winner of the 1992 Pritzker prize) and Eduardo Souto de Moura (winner of the 2011 Pritzker prize). Its modern heir is the Faculdade de Arquitectura (School of Architecture) of the University of Porto. Although Portuguese architecture is usually associated with the internationally accredited Alvaro Siza, there are others equally responsible for the positive trends in current architecture. "Many Portuguese architects are sons of Siza, but Tavora is a grandfather to all of us." The influence of Sizas own teacher, Fernando Tavora, echoes across generations.[5] The Fundao Calouste Gulbenkian, built in 1960s and designed by Rui Atouguia, Pedro Cid and Alberto Pessoa, is one of the very best, defining examples of 20th-century Portuguese architecture. In Portugal Toms Taveira is also noteworthy, particularly due to stadium design.[6] Portuguese architects include Pancho Guedes and Gonalo Byrne.
[7] [8]
Other renowned
Carrilho da Graas Centro de Documentao da Presidncia da Repblica (Documentation Archive of the President of the Portuguese Republic), is one of Lisbons best-kept architectural secrets.
Footnotes
[1] "Portuguese Plain Architecture: Between Spices and Diamonds, 1521-1706" (ISBN 0819540455) [2] "Architectura von Ausstellung, Symmetrie und Proportion der Sulen" (Architecture of Exhibition, Symmetry and Proportion of Columns) (1591) [3] Jos Fernandes Pereira. Arquitectura Barroca em Portugal. Instituto de Cultura e Lngua Portuguesa. 1986. [4] Morrogh, Andrew (March 1998). "Guarini and the Pursuit of Originality: The Church for Lisbon and Related Projects". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 57, No. 1) 57 (1): 629. doi:10.2307/991402. JSTOR991402. [5] Modern Portugal- Architecture in the Age of Masses (http:/ / www. aiq. co. il/ pages/ EnglishArticle. asp?id=192) [6] (Portuguese) Estdios de Toms Taveira e Souto Moura premiados (http:/ / www. dn. pt/ Inicio/ interior. aspx?content_id=615671), Dirio de Notcias (July 8, 2005) [7] Toms Taveira (http:/ / www. amazon. com/ Toms-Taveira-Geoffrey-Broadbent/ dp/ 185490034X), Geoffrey Broadbent (introduction), Publisher: St Martins Pr (February 1991) [8] (Portuguese) Toms Taveira desenha estdio do Palmeiras no Brasil (http:/ / www. arquitectura. pt/ forum/ f11/ sao-paulo-est-dio-do-palmeiras-no-brasil-tom-s-taveira-10811/ ), Diarioeconomico.com
Architecture of Portugal
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References
Kingsley, Karen, Gothic Art, Visigothic Architecture in Spain and Portugal: A Study in Masonry, Documents and Form, 1980; International Census of Doctoral Dissertations in Medieval Art, 19821993 KUBLER, George, y SORIA, Martin, "Art and Architecture in Spain and Portugal and their Dominions, 1500-1800", New York, 1959. Kubler, George, "Portuguese Plain Architecture: Between Spices and Diamonds, 1521-1706 " ; Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, Connecticut 1972; ISBN 0819540455 Toman, Rolf - Romanik; Knemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Kln, 1996 (in Dutch translation : Romaanse Kunst : Architectuur, Beeldhouwkunst, Schilderkunst) ISBN 3-89508-449-2 Toman, Rolf - Barock ; Knemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Kln, 1997 (in Dutch translation : Barok : Architectuur, Beeldhouwkunst, Schilderkunst); ISBN 3-89508-919-2 Underwood, D.K. - "The Pombaline Style and International Neoclassicism in Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro."; U. of Pennsylvania Editor, 1988
External links
Portuguese Architecture by Walter Crum Watson, available free (in HTML or plain text) at gutenberg.org (http:// www.gutenberg.org/etext/29370)
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License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported //creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/