page_title: São João National Theatre
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: São João National Theatre / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: Porto, Portugal
context_page_description: The São João Theatre, commonly referred to as the São João National Theatre is a Portuguese theatre and concert venue in civil parish of Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória, in the municipality of Porto, in northern Portugal.
context_section_description: The theatre is centrally located in Porto, occupying a complete block, in front of the Praça da Batalha, between the Rua de Augusto Rosa (on its left) and the Travessa do Cativ (on its right), with the Rua do Cativo to the rear.
  The rectangular plan is covered in tile roofing, with its principal facade found on one of the two smaller sides, framed laterally by rustic cornerstones and accentuated by capricious urns and garlands. The "noble floor" with three arches on steeped pilasters is inscribed under columns with broad shafts and Ionian capitals, while the doors of the lodges are topped by interrupted pediments.
  Three loggias exist on extended balconies, over sills in the thickness of the walls and interconnected by a balcony running on 4 strong consoles in the same alignment as the ordering columns. The arches have a shutter in support and transition to the entablature, which opens a frieze corresponding to a mezzanine of three openings and bas-reliefs alluding to the human passions ("Pain", "Hate", "Kindness" and "Love"), subtitled on the architrave. Above, the denticulated cord ends at the frieze and the beginning of a strong cornice based on rebound corbels, which are dense, in a repetitive rhythm that runs throughout the building. Crowning the facade is the gable, rising over a high platform, with rhythmic fenestration and formal, ornamented balustrades. The lateral facades are symmetrical. On the ground floor, there are 3 arched doorways (topped by a running balcony and supported by 4 consoles), flanked by 2 small doors, with an interrupted curvilinear pediment. Here, 3 doors (that are repeated in the two successive upper floors) with balconies and sills, are interspersed between four, embedded Ionic pilasters. The set is flanked by strong masks, on intermediate floor, on which a window opens at the top, with small gap at the bottom. Corresponding to the stage area, there are high, open slits; in this area, the body of the theatre rises above the entablature, accompanying the broken forms or gables, underlined by the frame and ornamental strip.
caption: The pediment of the lateral facades
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