Walking through Lisbon, Porto, Funchal or any small Portuguese town, you walk on a work of art: calçada portuguesa, hand-laid paving made of small irregular cubes of white limestone and black basalt, arranged in geometric patterns, waves, stars, caravels, coats of arms and lettering. It is one of the most distinctive features of the Portuguese townscape.
Origins
Paving streets with small stones goes back to the Romans, but calçada portuguesa as we know it was born in Lisbon in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1842 the military governor of São Jorge castle, Eusébio Furtado, had a castle courtyard paved in a black and white zigzag, using prisoners' labour. The result was so admired that in 1848-49 he was given the paving of Rossio square, with the famous wave pattern called Mar Largo, recalling the ocean and the discoveries. From then on calçada spread throughout Lisbon and the rest of the country.
The calceteiros
The masters of this art are the calceteiros, who cut the stones by hand with a hammer and lay them one by one on a bed of sand, following wooden or metal templates for the designs. It is hard work, done kneeling, and the number of calceteiros has fallen sharply over time: Lisbon has a school to train new ones and a monument to the calceteiro near the church of São Roque. Calçada has been entered in the national inventory of intangible cultural heritage.
Around the world
Calçada portuguesa has travelled throughout the Portuguese-speaking world. Its most famous example is the Copacabana promenade in Rio de Janeiro, with black and white waves redesigned in their current form by the landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. It can also be found in Macau, Angola, Mozambique, Goa and many cities with Portuguese communities.
Where to see it
In Lisbon, besides Rossio, famous designs include those of Praça do Comércio, Chiado, Avenida da Liberdade and Parque das Nações, where calçada has been reinterpreted with contemporary motifs. Funchal, Ponta Delgada and the old centres of many towns also have splendid examples (see Lisbon and Funchal).
A debated art
Calçada has its drawbacks too: when it rains it is very slippery, especially on steep streets, and loose stones make walking hard for older people and those with reduced mobility. That is why many towns are replacing it at the most critical points with safer surfaces, while keeping it in squares and historic places. A practical tip for visitors: in Lisbon, wear rubber-soled shoes. See also azulejos.