Portuguese Romanesque architecture

Besides this possible Visigothic connection, Mozarabic architecture in Portugal also came in contact with Asturian art, identified with the artistic creations that were being produced during the 9th century specifically in the territories that comprised the Kingdom of Asturias.

Various factors contribute to this aspect, mainly the unstable environment experienced in the Iberian Peninsula at the time due to the Reconquista[19] and the consequent political reorganisation of peninsular geography.

[20] Expansion of the Romanesque style coincided with the reign of D.Afonso Henriques (1139–1185), a monarch with Burgundian background being the son of Count Henry and great-grandson of Robert II, King of France.

Being a predominantly religious architecture, Portuguese Romanesque style was deeply related with ecclesiastical rural church parishes and monastic monasteries founded or rebuilt in the 12th and 13th centuries, with bishops, by royal mandate, their biggest sponsors.

[23]The original Romanesque Western façade of the cathedral has been totally suppressed, except for some archivolts and capitals of the main portal, heavily decorated with animal and human sculptured reliefs.

[36] A magnificent panel depicting the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, by Portuguese painter Gregório Lopes, was painted for the Round Church and now hangs in the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon.

As previously stated, Romanesque architecture style reached Portugal by the end of the 11th century by the hand of Cluniac, Cistercian and Augustinian orders, bringing with them the monastical reforms that were already underway in their countries of origin.

[2] Therefore, it is not surprising that monastical buildings comprise most of the Romanesque kind, specially in the northern areas of Entre-Douro-e-Minho, Tâmega and Sousa valleys and along the Douro river margins.

A characteristic feature of Portuguese Romanesque architecture, both ecclesiastic and domestic, is the pairing of two arcade openings, separated by a pillar or colonette and often set within a larger arch.

Romanesque churches generally have a single portal centrally placed on the west front, the focus of decoration for the facade of the building, and both the largest and the smallest, had lateral entrances that were commonly used by worshippers.

[39] This shape lent itself to a wide variety of superficial treatments, sometimes foliate in imitation of the source, but often figurative, without forgetting that the kind of stone used for construction of Romanesque churches in Portugal was mostly granite which made the carving of intricate and sharp details much harder.

[40] Another important aspect of the iconography represented in capitals throughout the Portuguese Romanesque buildings are the scenes of daily life or mundane events such as musicians playing instruments, acrobats performing stunts, people dancing.

Corbels in Portuguese Romanesque buildings often have an elaborately carved appearance with stylised heads of humans, animals and imaginary "beasts", or a wide range of motifs, sometimes end with a point apparently growing into the wall, or forming a knot, and often are supported by angels and other figures.

In contrast to their French counterparts, they often have suffered less modern intervention, and as a result, their current state is more likely to reflect their original arrangement and to preserve more fully the character of the visual imagery found there.

The single, double, and even triple and quadruple capitals of 12th-century cloisters' columns were carved with foliate forms derived from the Classical period, such as vine scrolls and acanthus leaves, real and imaginary animals in combat or in heraldic positions, secular images such as musicians, entertainers, hunters, saints' lives and biblical events.

[46] The Cistercian Romanesque architecture reflected the austerity and sobriety characteristic of that monastical Order in their quest for a mistic and spiritual goal preached by their leader and mentor Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.

Doubts about its real function arouse from a document of 1501 in which the author (according to the published writings of the Abbot of Baçal (1865–1947)) referred to the local record of Martim Anes (1185–1254) who spoke of the construction of the Domus upper level during his lifetime.

[4] There is another document from 1503 referring to the building as both a Sala da Água (English: Water-room) and a place where the town representatives gathered to discuss and sign contracts, therefore, it should not be surprising if this supposed double-function turns out to be correct.

[2] Located near the Castle's courtyard alongside the Church of Santa Maria, the structure is based on a multi-level irregular pentagon, constructed of rounded granite blocks and held together by mortar, with a barrel vaulted wooden roof supported by three arches and covered by tiles.

Most are no longer more than single towers that stand out from more modern constructions carried out in the house that surrounds them, and many were remodelled in later Gothic and Renaissance styles, but their Romanesque features are still very much visible.

This kind of model was adopted by the smaller ranks of nobility in search of social ascension in a way of displaying to local communities their newly acquired power.

[47] The Domus Fortis is composed by several divisions: - The most important being the Tower, of square plan (round ones were rare in Portugal), fortifying the house and offering protection to their owners and respective servants in case of need.

Some were progressively restored in later centuries reflecting more modern Renaissance and Baroque styles: like Aguiã, Refoios, Gomariz, Castro, Faralães and Barbosa Tower-Houses.

[3] Construction activity of bridges during the Middle Ages is directly related to the need of restoring the old Roman road system that was already obsolete, in order to develop new connections and boost trading.

São Gonçalo of Amarante and São Lourenço Mendes, sponsors of the construction of Amarante and Cavês bridges, respectively, were called saints by popular acclamation, such as Saint Benizet of Avignon (France) or Sán Domingos da Calçada (La Rioja (Spain)), showing how much this phenomenon of bridge and road construction were considered extremely important elsewhere in Europe.

The majority of these defensive positions, the rural castles, were of very simple structure and took advantage of natural conditions such as high places with granite outcrops, that made access difficult.

With origins in the military architecture developed by the Crusaders in the Holy Land, this constructive technique was used in the castle of Saône and the Krak des Chevaliers, both located in Syria, where Gualdim Pais was stationed between 1151 and 1156.

Those initial Gothic features (pointed arch, taller and slimmer columns, groin and rib vaults, flying buttresses and more windows), although still with much Romanesque flavour, were implemented in Cistercian abbeys as they matched the exact kind of austere and ascetic teachings preached by their leader and mentor Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.

Alcobaça, one of the biggest Cistercian abbeys in the world,[49] is the first fully Gothic building in Portugal, but it still has a heavy and austere exterior appearance, only balanced by its tall and massive rib vaulted central nave and aisles.

Churches like Santa Maria dos Olivais in Tomar, or São João de Alporão in Santarém are perfect examples of this Mendicant transitional period between the Romanesque and the definitive settle of Gothic style, which would only be a reality by the 14th and 15th centuries.

The Old Cathedral of Coimbra with its fortress like appearance and battlemented. The two central openings are deeply recessed.
The famous round church (rotunda) of the Convent of Christ was built in the second half of the 12th century. Like some other templar churches throughout Europe, was modelled after the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
Apse of Castro de Avelãs Monastery, a mix of Mozarabic and Asturian-Leonese style.
Monastery of Santa Cruz (Coimbra), its original Romanesque facade was later redecorated with Manueline style during the 16th century
Main façade of Monastery of Rates old church, a Cluniac monastic building.
Main façade of Braga Cathedral . The entrance gallery (galilee) with three arches is gothic (end of the 15th century), but the towers and upper storeys are early baroque (17th century).
Porto Cathedral , its heavy and imposing facade with thick buttresses was later embellished by a Baroque portal.
Lisbon Cathedral , severely damaged after the earthquake of 1755, it was rebuilt following the same original 12th-century plan.
The round church of the Knights Templar in Tomar was built to be a fortified chapel, serving both for praying and defense.
Monastery of Paço de Sousa , built in the 10th century by the Benedictine monks.
Interior of the church of Monastery of Rates seen towards the main chapel, with its wooden roof and pointed arches.
Portal of the Church of Santiago in Coimbra has columns decorated with detailed motifs.
Vegetalist capitals at the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Orada .
A corbel table with humans, animals and beasts carved in the modillions. Sanfins de Friestas Church .
Simple square east end on the'Chapel of Santo Abdão.
Cloister of Coimbra Cathedral , arcades and columns are Romanesque but its roof already presents a ribbed vault.
Tarouca Abbey copying the facade of the Abbey of Fontenay .
The stonework of the Domus Municipalis , located across the courtyard of Bragança Castle .
Tower-House of São Cipriano , near Guimarães . Remodelled in the 15th and 18th centuries, its tower and main building date back to the early 12th century.
Lagoncinha Bridge over the Ave River , built in the 12th century on the road between Braga and Porto .
Guimarães Castle , built in the 10th century, its current look is the result of late 13th-century enlargements.
Church of Santa Maria do Olival , built by the Knights Templar around 1170, was one of the first buildings reflecting the newly arrived Gothic architecture maintaining a Romanesque structural shape.