The Pombaline style was a Portuguese
architectural style
An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...
of the 18th century, named after
Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo Sebastião is Portuguese for ''Sebastian''.
This name may refer to:
People
* Sebastião (given name)
Sebastião is a Portuguese male given name, descending from the Latin Sebastianus and equivalent to the English name Sebastian.
Notable peop ...
, the first
Marquês de Pombal, who was instrumental in reconstructing
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
after the
earthquake of 1755. Pombal supervised the plans drawn up by the military engineers
Manuel da Maia
Manuel da Maia (5 August 1677, baptised – 17 September 1768) was a Portuguese architect, engineer, and archivist. Maia is primarily remembered for his leadership in the reconstruction efforts following the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, alongside Eug ...
,
Eugénio dos Santos
Eugénio dos Santos de Carvalho (1711–1760) was a Portuguese architect and military engineer, responsible for the planning and rebuilding of Lisbon's Pombaline Lower Town after the 1755 earthquake. Among other buildings he designed the Lisbon C ...
and (later succeeded by
Carlos Mardel
Carlos Mardel (born Martell Károly; Pressburg; c. 1695 - Lisbon; 8 September 1763) was a Hungarian-Portuguese military officer, engineer, and architect. Mardel is primarily remembered for his role in the reconstruction effort after the 1755 Lis ...
). The new city (mostly the Baixa area now called
Baixa Pombalina) was laid out on a grid plan with roads and pavements fixed at . The previously standing
Royal Palace
This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent.
Africa
* Abdin Palace, Cairo
* Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo
* Koubbeh Palace, Cairo
* Tahra Palace, Cairo
* Menelik Palace
* Jubilee Palace
* Guenete Leul Palace
* Imperial Palace- ...
was replaced with the Praça do Comércio which, along with square
Rossio
The Rossio is the popular name of the King Pedro IV Square ( pt, Praça de D. Pedro IV) in the city of Lisbon, in Portugal. It is located in the Pombaline Downtown of Lisbon and has been one of its main squares since the Middle Ages. It has been ...
, defines the limits of the new city.
Maia and Santos also outlined the form of the facades that were to line the streets, conceived on a hierarchical scheme whereby detail and size were delineated by the importance of the street. These were in a notably restrained
Neoclassical style
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing sty ...
partly the result of limited funds and the urgency of building but also thanks to the enlightenment concept of architectural rationality adhered to by Pombal. A standardized system of decoration was applied both inside and out with a distinctively reduced application of
azulejo
''Azulejo'' (, ; from the Arabic ''al- zillīj'', ) is a form of Spanish and Portuguese painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework. ''Azulejos'' are found on the interior and exterior of churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, res ...
tiling.
The Pombaline building
The Pombaline style introduced early
anti-seismic
Earthquake engineering is an Interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary branch of engineering that designs and analyzes structures, such as buildings and bridges, with earthquakes in mind. Its overall goal is to make such structures more resistant to ...
design features and early
prefabricated
Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term ...
building methods.
A flexible wooden structure implanted on the walls, floors and roofs and later covered by pre-manufactured building materials "shakes but doesn’t fall."
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
’s downtown, called Baixa, the area most affected by the earthquake, is built over unstable ground, and it is thus necessary to reinforce the whole area. Another anti-seismic system was needed in this area, consisting of a forest of buried poles. Because these poles are exposed to salty water they maintain their elasticity and resist rot.
The
prefabrication
Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is ...
system was completely new. The building was entirely manufactured outside the city, transported in pieces and then assembled on site. The construction, which lasted into the nineteenth century, lodged the city's residents in safe new structures unheard-of before the quake.
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
was completely changed: the
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
streets gave place to an orthogonal city, organizing the area between the
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
old squares, Rossio and Terreiro do Paço, with a modern design. Large spaces, gorgeous light and good ventilation, missing in the medieval city, became features of the new Lisbon.
The Terreiro do Paço, with a new name (
Praça do Comércio
The Praça do Comércio (; ) is a large, harbour-facing plaza in Portugal's capital, Lisbon, and is one of the largest in Portugal, with an area of 175 by 175 m (574 by 574 ft), that is, 30,600 m2 (329,000 ft2).
Facing the Tagus () to the South, ...
) and without the
Royal Palace
This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent.
Africa
* Abdin Palace, Cairo
* Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo
* Koubbeh Palace, Cairo
* Tahra Palace, Cairo
* Menelik Palace
* Jubilee Palace
* Guenete Leul Palace
* Imperial Palace- ...
, was moved west and opened to the
Tagus River
The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...
. New royal buildings were constructed, including twin towers inspired by the former Royal Palace tower; a statue of King
Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to:
*Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283
* Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711)
*Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696)
*Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...
by
Machado de Castro; and a triumph arc built in the nineteenth century, a symbol of triumph over the
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
. The Rossio Square lost the old and destroyed
Hospital de Todos os Santos, and remained the city "Forum", retaining its popular character despite the elegant new buildings.
The Pombaline building is a structure of up to four floors, with arcades on the ground floor to allow for shops and balconies on the first floor and attic. All buildings follow this general typology, but the small decorative details in the façade depend on the building's significance and use. Each building is isolated by walls to stop the spread of fires.
The construction of new palaces were regulated and ostentatious designs were rejected (a very unpopular situation among the aristocracy), allowing for decoration only in the portal. Windows too may be slightly more elegant than those of other buildings.
The churches follow the spirit of the time, with minimal architectural decoration outside. Single-room buildings with side altars, internal decoration following
Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
taste, simulated materials in wood and plaster, several paintings (
Pedro Alexandrino de Carvalho made the best works) and a small number of sculptures was the norm. The spaces are pleasant and light. The most important churches are Santo António da Sé (where
St. Anthony was born), Incarnação, São Domingos, Madalena, Mártires.
Vila Real de Santo António
Vila Real de Santo António (, often run together as ) is a city, civil parish, and municipality in the Algarve, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 19,156, in an area of 61.25 km2. It is one of the few municipalities in Portugal without te ...
, in the
Algarve
The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese).
The region has it ...
, is an example of a village built after the Pombaline way.
The functional spirit of the Pombaline style, eliminating all extraneous decoration and imposing a rational soberness throughout, is not completely Rococo. It reflects an illuminist spirit and strong neoclassical character, even without classical architectural shapes. The importance of reason for Pombaline architecture has been systematically ignored by the European art history, wishing to see French Rococo or neoclassicism in all countries.
See also
*
List of architectural styles
*
Timeline of architectural styles
This timeline shows the periods of various architectural styles in a graphical fashion.
6000 BC–present
*8000 years – the last 1000 years (fine grid) is expanded in the timeline below
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:1024 height:auto ...
*
Architecture of Portugal
References
*David Kendrick Underwood: ''The Pombaline Style and International Neoclassicism in Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro'', 1988, PhD thesis U of Penn.
Artnet entry
{{Architecture of Portugal
Architectural styles
Architecture in Portugal
Neoclassical architecture in Portugal