French Influence on Portuguese Architects in the Age of Enlightenment

摘要

This investigation shows the European influence on the work of Portuguese architects of the Enlightenment period. Based on previous studies we focus our attention on the design of 'Praca do Comercio' square and on a hypothesis, that it was based on the French Royal Square. We demonstrate that the design of Lisbon from the second half of the eighteenth-century was influenced by the theories and best practices of the time. We also confirm that the architect Eugenio dos Santos e Carvalho, a member of the reconstruction team for the Baixa, had in his personal library several reference books of French architectural practice that certainly influenced his architecture. The plans for the main square of Lisbon's lower city, 'Praca do Comercio', can be compared to the 'Place de Nos Conquetes', predecessor of the 'Place Vendome', in its design, architecture and dimensions. This research analysed the cartography and iconography of Lisbon's reconstruction. In particular, the drawings of 'Praca do Comercio' and 'Place de nos Conquetes' were exhaustively studied. The comparative study of the elements for both squares lead to the conclusion that the Portuguese square presents many aspects of the French Age of Enlightenment, and in particular those featured in the 'Place de nos Conquetes'. This paper concludes that the Portuguese urban design and architectural projects of the 18th century are the result of previous knowledge where it was always possible to articulate the vernacular with academic design, and where many different influences left their mark on the culture of the period. The plans for the lower part of Lisbon display a mixture of references that relate to architectural and urban planning traditions of the Portuguese military engineering and contemporary French urban planning.