The Arch of the New Gate () is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

and Neoclassical

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

, designed by André Soares in the late 18th century, in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Sé,

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

, in northern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. The triumphal arch which decorates the western entrance to the medieval wall of the city, was opened in 1512 and traditionally used to present the city's keys to dignitaries and celebrities.

History

It was King Ferdinand who eventually completed the wall of city of Braga around 1373, a project begun during the reign of his predecessor King Denis, a project that called for a ''Torre da Porta Nova'' (''Tower of the New City Gate''). Around 1505, and lasting to 1532, archbishop Diogo de Sousa had people working on the construction of the ''Porta Nova'' (''New Gate''). This building project included a phase of rebuilding of the tower, around 1512. Sometime in the 17th century, Archbishop José de Bragança, ordered the reconstruction of the ''Porta Nova'' gate, to include the extension of Rococo decoration. As part of its construction (1772–1773), a statue representing the city of Braga was removed from the ''Edifício das Arcadas'' and installed on the arch of the new gate (around in 1772). Followed the following year by the archbishop (Gaspar de Bragança) ordering the transformation of the tower of the Porta Nova, to a triumphal arch in the Baroque style. The historic arch was used by the municipality, throughout the 20th century, to promotional and marketing campaigns, including the "''És de Braga, não fechas as portas''" (''You're from Braga, do not close your gates'') and "''Vai abaixo de Braga''" (''Come under Braga'') programs, among others.

Architecture

It is locked within an urban environment, within one of the city's primary arterial roads, in a transitory space between the ''Campo das Hortas'' and ''Rua D. Diogo de Sousa''. Its sits between buildings with three to five storey heights, which are mostly commercial shops on the main floor and residences on the upper floors. In the immediate vicinity is a medieval tower, which now houses the Museu de Imagem, the arch representing the principal entrance to the medieval city. A double decorative composition on either facete, the arch has a

western façade, and an emergente neoclassic eastern façade, highlighting the many faces of the designer André Soares. The western facete, with its interrupted rounded arch façade, is a Baroque arch flanked by four pilasters and crowned by plinths with pyramidal pinnacles. The interrupted curved arch façade is decorated by the coat of arms of archbishop Gaspar of Bragança, above which is the allegorical figure of the city of Braga. The eastern façade, with only two relief pilasters, is surmounted by and image of ''Nossa Senhora da Nazaré'' (''Our Lady of Nazareth'') in a recessed niche.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{citation , last=Oliveira , first=Jorge , contribution=Praça da República – Mais conhecida por Arcada , title=Diário do Minho , date=22 September 2004 , language=Portuguese Buildings and structures in Braga Buildings and structures completed in 1773 National monuments in Braga District Tourist attractions in Braga Triumphal arches in Portugal 1773 establishments in Portugal