Renaissance architecture in Portugal

Portuguese Mannerism, specially in secular architecture, is characterised by simplicity in the organisation of façades and relative lack of decoration, being often referred to as Estilo Chão (plain style).

[1] One of the most important examples of Manueline style is the Jerónimos Monastery at Lisbon, in which Renaissance ornaments decorate portals, church columns and cloisters.

The definitive abandonment of Gothic architecture and the first "pure" Renaissance structures appear later in the 16th century, under King John III, like the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Conceição in Tomar (1532–40), the Porta Especiosa of Coimbra Cathedral and the Graça Church at Évora (c. 1530-1540), as well as the cloisters of the Cathedral of Viseu (c. 1528-1534) and Convent of Christ in Tomar (John III Cloisters, 1557–1591).

An important and rare example of urban palace of the Renaissance is the Casa dos Bicos (c. 1525) in Lisbon, with a façade covered with diamond reliefs in Italian fashion.

Also near Setúbal is located the Quinta das Torres (c. 1560), also characterised by its symmetrical façades and a pavilion in the middle of its artificial lake.