Casa Sommer is a building in

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera, Estoril Coast. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Port ...

, on the

Portuguese Riviera The Portuguese Riviera (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Riviera Portuguesa'') is a term used for the affluent coastal region to the west of Lisbon, Portugal, centered on the coastal municipalities of Cascais (including Estoril), Oeiras, Portug ...

, which houses the Cascais Municipal Historical Archive and a branch of the Cascais Municipal Library, hosting collections pertaining to the town's

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, historical and cultural heritage. Built as the residence of entrepreneur

Henrique de Sommer Henrique de Araújo de Sommer (Lisbon, 29 January 1886 — Cascais, 28 March 1944) was one of Portugal's most important industrialists. He was a member of a German aristocratic family living in Portugal, since his grandfather Heinrich Baron v ...

, Casa Sommer is a noted example of

Summer architecture Summer architecture () was a Portuguese Architecture, Portuguese architectural movement originating in the Portuguese Riviera, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the region became a popular resort destination for the House of Braganz ...

History

The house was constructed at the end of the 19th century. It is considered the most important example of a neoclassical private residence in Cascais. The exterior features smooth and curved

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

s, fluted

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s, and

triglyph Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze in classical architecture, so called because of the angular channels in them. The rectangular recessed spaces between the triglyphs on a Doric frieze are ...

s. The main

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

features a rectangular

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

, which frames the entrance and creates the

balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

on the second floor, which is protected by a

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

. After it ceased to be a family home the house was for a time used as a language school and then a children's home, before falling into disrepair for a time. It was then restored by the Municipality of Cascais and officially opened on 7 December 2016. The work, led by the architect Paula Santos, which also included the building's old coach house, succeeded in adding considerable internal floor space. It included construction of a new underground corridor linking the main building to the coach house, which now houses the Municipal Historical Archive.

Collection

On display is the restored ''

Foral 200px, Foral of Castro Verde - Portugal The ''Carta de Foral'', or simply ''Foral'', was a royal document in Portugal and its former empire, whose purpose was to establish a ''concelho'' (Council) and regulate its administration, borders and priv ...

'' of Cascais, which was a royal document signed by

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate (), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch. Manu ...

whose purpose was to establish a town or village Council and regulate its administration, borders and privileges. A community would need a ''Foral'' in order to function as a town. The second oldest book is the ''Livro de Posturas'' (Book of Regulations), which recorded the town's rules and regulations.

References

External links

*{{Commons-inline, Cascais Buildings and structures in Cascais Art museums and galleries in Portugal Museums in Lisbon District Summer architecture