Residence of the Maias | |
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Casa das Maias | |
The perspective of the former-residence of the Maias | |
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General information | |
Type | Residence |
Location | Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória |
Town or city | Porto |
Country | ![]() |
Coordinates | 41°8′38″N 8°36′51″W / 41.14389°N 8.61417°W |
Opened | 16th century |
Owner | Portuguese Republic |
Technical details | |
Material | Granite |
The Residence of the Maias (Portuguese: Casa dos Ferrazes Bravos/Casa dos Maias), is a 16th-century building situated in the Portuguese civil parish of Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória, municipality of Porto, the district of the same name.
History
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Casa_Maias_2_%28Porto%29.jpg/235px-Casa_Maias_2_%28Porto%29.jpg)
In 1521 the Rua das Flores (Rua Santa Catarina das Flores) was opened.[1] These dates and details are based on an article about a seigneurial house, A Casa Dos Maias, elaborated by Francisco de Almeida e Sousa and Casimiro S. Arsénio, published in the magazine O Tripeiro (Série Nova, Ano IX/9 Junho/Julho). From this article, the property is commonly referred to a sth Casa dos Maias (Residence of the Maias), because (even as the family of Domingos Oliveira Maia occupied the spaces briefly), it was a bourgeoisie period that corresponds to a golden period along Rua das Flores when many families of a social stratification lived in the homes.[1] Francisco de Almeida e Sousa and Casimiro S. Arsénio, referred to the opening of the Rua de Santa Catarina das Flores, whose lands were occupied by the bishop's gardens.[1] It was the bishop who determined that for each house constructed along Rua de Santa Catarina be marked with the symbol its authority.[1]
The Residence of the Frazzes Bravos, in the document of Luís Toledo referred to a mark of Santa Maria and was place on the door.[1]
Several years later, the lands were inherited by Luís Toledo, his wife and sons, to construct a seigneurial home (1528).[1]
By 1542, the Mitra Census archive records that the proprietors of the houses along Rua das Flores (the upper houses) were the nobleman Ferraz and another Manuel Bravo.[1]
By the 18th century, there was a construction of a chapel, that introduce decorative elements to the facade and other ornamentation authored by Nicolau Nasoni.[1]
In the second quarter of 19th century, the building was owned by Domingos de Oliveira Maia. By the mid-19th century. the chapel tile was removed and transferred to the Chapel of Quinta de Vale Abraão in Chambres, Lamego by the then-property-owner Maria de Serpa Leitão Pimentel.[1]
Beginning in 1992, there was an initial study to restore, remodel and expand the building, with further work being completed in 1994.[1]
Architecture
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Casa_Maias_1_%28Porto%29.jpg/235px-Casa_Maias_1_%28Porto%29.jpg)
Located in an urban setting, it is flanked by similar constructions on Rua das Flores, alongside various buildings of similar stature and form.[1]
The two-storey building and commercial ground floor has a U-shaped plan, with the rear volumes over terrace. The principal facade which is oriented to the south, facing the Rua das Flores, has 8 windows with iron grate on the first floor, and windows surmounted by triangular lintels.[1] The ground floor are aligned to these windows; there are five oval window and six doors, with two far larger and surmounted by two stone coat-of-arms (for Bravo and Ferraz). The very prominent roof overhang is supported by granite machicolations.[1]
In the back yard there is an octagonal centralized chapel.[1] This first-storey courtyard is decorated in granite flagstones and defined by a support wall that incorporates a dolphin and a bowl that once must have been a fountain.[1]
The interior is marked by a vaulted wall (now closed) between the two entrance gates. There is also a wide staircase leading to the main floor, that includes two lateral lances of stairs and central flight. Over the guardrails are situated three granite columns, with bases and capitals.