Architecture is one of the best ways to read Portugal's history: the fortress-churches of the Reconquest, the splendour of the discoveries, the rebuilding of Lisbon after the earthquake, the Baroque of Brazilian gold and, in the twentieth century, one of the most celebrated schools of architects in the world.
Romanesque and Gothic
The Romanesque cathedrals of Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Braga, built in the twelfth century, are massive and crenellated like castles: they also had to serve as refuges during the wars against the Moors and neighbouring kingdoms. Portuguese Gothic peaked in the great monasteries of Alcobaça, with its Cistercian austerity, and Batalha, built as a votive offering for the victory at Aljubarrota.
Manueline
In the early sixteenth century, during the reign of Manuel I (1495-1521), the wealth of India gave rise to a uniquely Portuguese style, Manueline: an exuberant late Gothic decorated with maritime motifs and symbols of the discoveries, twisted ropes, anchors, coral, seaweed, the armillary sphere and the cross of the Order of Christ. Its masterpieces are the Jerónimos monastery and Belém tower in Lisbon, the Chapter House window of the Convent of Christ in Tomar and the Unfinished Chapels at Batalha.
Pombaline and Baroque
After the 1755 earthquake, the Marquis of Pombal rebuilt Lisbon's Baixa to a rational plan, with grid streets and uniform buildings constructed around an internal timber frame, the gaiola pombalina, a flexible cage designed to withstand earthquakes: it is considered one of the first examples of anti-seismic construction in history. Baroque, meanwhile, flourished thanks to Brazilian gold, with churches lined in talha dourada, carved and gilded wood, the gigantic palace-convent of Mafra (see Mafra) and, in Porto, the works of the Italian Nicolau Nasoni, architect of the Torre dos Clérigos.
Vernacular architecture
Just as fascinating is the traditional architecture of the regions: the low whitewashed houses with blue or yellow trim of the Alentejo, the pierced chimneys of the Algarve, the schist and granite villages of the central and northern mountains (see historic and schist villages), the espigueiros, stone granaries of the Minho, and the azulejo-clad houses of the cities.
The Porto School
In the twentieth century, after the monumental buildings of the Estado Novo such as the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, a school of architecture emerged in Porto that would become world famous. Its master was Fernando Távora, who combined modernity with local tradition. His pupil Álvaro Siza, born in Matosinhos in 1933, won the Pritzker Prize in 1992: his best-known works include the Piscinas das Marés at Leça da Palmeira, the Serralves Museum in Porto, the church at Marco de Canaveses and the Portuguese pavilion at Expo 98. Eduardo Souto de Moura, Pritzker laureate in 2011, designed the Braga stadium carved into rock, the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego in Cascais and many Porto metro stations.
Contemporary
Recent decades have also brought international architects to Portugal: Rem Koolhaas's Casa da Música in Porto, Santiago Calatrava's Oriente station and the Parque das Nações created for Expo 98, Amanda Levete's MAAT on the Belém riverfront. And a new generation of Portuguese practices, such as Aires Mateus and Carrilho da Graça, continues to win awards around the world.