page_title: Portuguese Architecture
section_title: Pombaline style
hierarchical_section_title: Portuguese Architecture / History / Pombaline style
caption_attribution_description: English: Place in Lisboa
context_page_description: Portuguese architecture refers to both the architecture of present-day Portugal's territory in Continental Portugal, the Azores and Madeira, as well as the architectural heritage/patrimony of Portuguese architects and styles throughout the world, particularly in countries formerly part of the Portuguese Empire.
  Like all aspects of Portuguese culture, Portuguese architecture reflects the artistic influences of the various cultures that have either inhabited Portugal or come in contact with the Portuguese people throughout the history of Portugal, including the Lusitanians, Celtiberians, Romans, Suebi, Visigoths, Moors, Mozarabs, Goans, Macanese, Kristang people, and many more. Because of the history of the Portuguese Empire, several countries across the world are home to sizable heritages of Portuguese colonial architecture, notably Brazil and Uruguay in the Americas, Angola, Cabo Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Benin, Ghana, Morocco, Guinea Bissau, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique in Africa, and China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Timor Leste in Asia.
context_section_description: The 1755 Lisbon earthquake and the subsequent tsunami and fires destroyed many buildings in Lisbon. Joseph I of Portugal and his Prime Minister Sebastião de Melo, Marquis of Pombal hired architects and engineers to rebuild the damaged portions of Lisbon, including the Pombaline Downtown.
  The Pombaline style is a secular, utilitarian architecture marked by pragmatism. It follows the Plain style of the military engineers, with regular, rational arrangements, mixed with Rococo details and a Neo-classical approach to structure. The Baixa district of Lisbon was rebuilt by Eugénio dos Santos and Carlos Mardel. The Marquis of Pombal imposed strict conditions on the rebuilding. Architectural models were tested by having troops march around them to simulate an earthquake, making the Pombaline one of the first examples of earthquake-resistant construction. The Praça do Comércio, the Augusta street and the Avenida da Liberdade are notable examples of this architecture. This Square of Commerce was given a regular, rational arrangement in line with the reconstruction of the new Pombaline Downtown, the Baixa.
  The Pombaline style of architecture is also to be found in Vila Real de Santo António (1773–75) a new town in the Algarve, built by Reinaldo Manuel dos Santos. The style is clearly visible in the urban arrangement and especially in the main square.
caption: The Praça do Comércio, designed by Eugénio dos Santos in 1755.
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