La casa medieval de Coimbra: arqueología de la arquitectura en la desmitificación de arquetipos

I Este Congreso ha contado con una ayuda del Vicerrectorado de Investigación de la Universidad de Granada obtenida en concurrencia competitiva. © De los textos, sus autores, 2019 © Abada Editores, s.l., 2019 C/ Gobernador, 18 28014 Madrid www.abadaeditores.com Imagen de portada: La cabaña primitiva, frontispicio realizado por Charles-DominiqueJoseph Eisen para el Essai sur l’architecture de Marc-Antoine Laugier, edición de 1755 Fuente: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich Imagen de contraportada: Grabado encabezando el capítulo “Adspectus Incauti Dispendium” del libro de Theodoor Galle Verdicus Christianus, 1601 Fuente: Vilnius University Library ISBN 978-84-17301-24-8 IBIC AMA Depósito Legal M-607-2019 Cualquier forma de reproducción, distribución, comunicación pública o transformación de esta obra solo puede ser realizada con la autorización de sus titulares, salvo excepción prevista por la ley. Diríjase a CEDRO (Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos) si necesita fotocopiar o escanear algún fragmento de esta obra (www.conlicencia.com; 917021970). Coordinador de la edición Juan Calatrava Escobar Equipo Editorial David Arredondo Garrido Ana del Cid Mendoza Francisco A. García Pérez Agustín Gor Gómez Marta Rodríguez Iturriaga María Zurita Elizalde Diseño de cubierta Francisco A. García Pérez II Congreso Internacional Cultura y Ciudad La Casa. Espacios domésticos, modos de habitar Granada 23-25 enero 2019 Comisión Organizadora David Arredondo Garrido Juan Manuel Barrios Rozúa Emilio Cachorro Fernández Juan Calatrava Escobar Ana del Cid Mendoza Francisco A. García Pérez Agustín Gor Gómez Ricardo Hernández Soriano Bernardino Líndez Vílchez Juan Francisco Martínez Benavides Juan Carlos Reina Marta Rodríguez Iturriaga María Zurita Elizalde Comité Científico Juan Calatrava Escobar, Universidad de Granada (Presidente) Tim Benton, The Open University, Reino Unido Miguel Ángel Chaves, Universidad Complutense de Madrid María Elena Díez Jorge, Universidad de Granada Juan Domingo Santos, Universidad de Granada Carmen Espegel Alonso, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid Rafael García Quesada, Universidad de Granada Carlos García Vázquez, Universidad de Sevilla Fulvio Irace, Politecnico di Milano Ángeles Layuno, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares Marta Llorente, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Caroline Maniaque, ENSA Rouen Mar Loren Méndez, Universidad de Sevilla Josep Maria Montaner, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Xavier Monteys, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya José Morales Sánchez, Universidad de Sevilla Eduardo Ortiz Moreno, Universidad de Granada Francisco Peña Fernández, Universidad de Granada Antonio Pizza, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya José Manuel Pozo Municio, Universidad de Navarra Rafael Reinoso Bellido, Universidad de Granada José Rosas Vera, Pontificia Universidad Católica, Santiago de Chile Carlos Sambricio, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid Margarita Segarra Lagunes, Università degli Studi RomaTre Marta Sequeira, Universidade de Lisboa Jorge Torres Cueco, Universitat Politècnica de València Elisa Valero Ramos, Universidad de Granada Presentación.......................................................................................................................... XIX Juan Calatrava BLOQUE TEMÁTICO 1 Arquitecturas de la casa: el espacio doméstico a través de la historia Lo público y lo privado en la forma urbis de Santiago 1910. El espacio doméstico en el Canon Republicano............................................................................................... Josep Parcerisa Bundó, José Rosas Vera 22 La Alhambra habitada. Experiencias del paisaje desde el espacio arquitectónico.. Marta Rodríguez Iturriaga 37 Housing and Children: Architectural Models from the Modern Movement................ Alexandra Alegre 48 Högna Sigurðardóttir. La misteriosa marca indeleble del origen............................... Julio Barreno Gutiérrez 59 Las casillas de peones camineros y su implantación en la costa del sudeste de España.............................................................................................................................. Antonio Burgos Núñez, Juan Carlos Olmo García, Francisco José García Castillo 73 El palazzo all’italiana, de la casa del príncipe al principio urbano............................ Michele Giovanni Caja, Maria Pompeiana Iarossi 82 The City and the House: Going Back to the Future...................................................... Antonio Alberto Clemente 95 Traditional Urban Housing at Alentejo’s “Marble Area”.............................................. Ana Costa Rosado 104 La consolidación del cuarto de baño en las viviendas de la ciudad de São Paulo, Brasil................................................................................................................................ Clarissa de Almeida Paulillo, Tatiana Sakurai 117 La cama amueblada: del objeto a la estancia............................................................... María de Miguel Pastor, Carla Sentieri Omarrementería 126 VI The Spaces, the People and the Ways of Being at Home in the North of Portugal in the 19th Century.......................................................................................................... Alexandra Esteves 136 Casa de John Soane en Londres (1792-1827). Luz, iluminación y patrimonio......... Rosalía Fenutría Aumesquet, José Joaquín Parra Bañón 143 Rita Fernández Queimadelos. Los proyectos de viviendas realizados en la DGRD (1943-1946)....................................................................................................................... Paula M. Fernández-Gago Longueira, Eduardo A. Caridad Yáñez 154 Arqueología urbana en Barcelona: aproximación a los espacios domésticos entre los siglos IV-VI........................................................................................................ Francesc Xavier Florensa Puchol 167 Memoria e identidad: el espacio de almacenaje en el imaginario doméstico........... Marta García Carbonero 178 Between Doorkeeper Apartments and Housemaid Rooms: Ways of Living in a Changing Lisbon............................................................................................................. Maria Assunção Gato, Filipa Ramalhete 188 La casa popular de zaguán, patio y corral. Habitabilidad y protección para el siglo XXI........................................................................................................................... Vidal Gómez Martínez, Blanca del Espino Hidalgo, María Teresa Pérez Cano 196 Casa en transformación: cocina y tecnología en el siglo XX en Cuenca (Ecuador). María Augusta Hermida, María José Cañar, Guillermo Mauricio Torres 206 Granada: la arquitectura doméstica de la ciudad cristiana........................................ Carlos Jerez Mir 218 Consideraciones históricas sobre la casa tradicional gallega y otras construcciones adjetivas................................................................................................ Francisco Xabier Louzao Martínez 230 Modern, Rationalist and Mediterranean: Residential Architecture during the Italian Colonization in Libya........................................................................................... Andrea Maglio 236 El confort en la vivienda canaria: de la arquitectura tradicional a los EECN............ Eduardo Martín del Toro 250 Instalaciones de la casa: el espacio doméstico en el siglo XX en España a través de la tecnología................................................................................................................ César Martín-Gómez, José Manuel Pozo Municio 261 El diedro casa | ciudad en la arquitectura nobiliaria de Sevilla: la plaza del Duque Pedro Mena Vega 272 Un primer acercamiento a la Quinta Nova da Assunção en Sintra............................. Iván Moure Pazos 282 VII BLOQUE TEMÁTICO 2 El proyecto doméstico como núcleo de la modernidad: casa singular y vivienda colectiva, del Movimiento Moderno al siglo XXI The Construction of “Minho’s” Domestic Space in Portugal’s 18th Century........... Flávia Oliveira 294 Arquitectura moderna en la ciudad histórica. Adalberto Libera y la casa Nicoletti (Roma 1932)..................................................................................................................... Carlos Plaza 302 Casa Bellia en Turín: nuevos espacios para la burguesía.......................................... Alice Pozzati 315 Live-Work Architecture. Learning from Peripheral Neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro.............................................................................................................................. Ana Slade 327 The Relationship Between Inhabitants and Vegetation in the Houses of Maceió in the 19th............................................................................................................................. Tharcila Maria Soares Leão, Josemary Omena Passos Ferrare, Veronica Robalinho Cavalcanti 339 The Home and the World: Domestic Dynamics of the Postwar American Suburban House............................................................................................................................... Luísa Sol 350 El hogar de Telva. Miradas femeninas al interior doméstico español 1963-1975..... Jorge Tárrago Mingo, Cristina Sunga Zamora 360 La casa jesuita en Granada: el Colegio de San Pablo................................................. María del Carmen Vílchez Lara, Jorge Gabriel Molinero Sánchez 371 La habitación en la arquitectura agraria granadina...................................................... Eduardo Zurita Povedano 381 Habitar el arte: la casa del coleccionista como modelo experimental de espacio doméstico........................................................................................................................ Ángeles Layuno 394 Domesticidad Mediterránea vs. Modernidad americana de Posguerra. Sert y Rudofsky.......................................................................................................................... Mar Loren-Méndez 411 Tradiciones en las políticas de vivienda pública.......................................................... Josep Maria Montaner Martorell 422 VIII De la Weissenhoff a Oporto, un camino de servicio.................................................... José Manuel Pozo Municio 430 Le Corbusier’s Immeuble-villas and an After Lunch Remembrance......................... Marta Sequeira 441 Le Corbusier. Une science de logis.............................................................................. Jorge Torres Cueco 454 La casa productiva. Propuestas para la autosuficiencia alimentaria durante la República de Weimar...................................................................................................... David Arredondo Garrido 470 Modernità y mediterraneità: sincretismo habitacional de Luigi Figini y Gino Pollini................................................................................................................................ Emilio Cachorro Fernández, Cristina Medina Valverde 482 El piano Fanfani en Roma: la torre de viviendas y la casa patio................................ Ana del Cid Mendoza 496 Feet on the Sand: Living Spaces in Apartment Buildings by the Sea in Maceió, Brazil................................................................................................................................. Camila Antunes de Carvalho Casado, Maria Angélica da Silva 510 Atomic-age Housing. The Fallout Shelter in Cold War America................................. Chiara Baglione 521 De la manzana a la supermanzana. Recuperación e innovación en la cultura urbanística....................................................................................................................... Raimundo Bambó Naya, Javier Monclús Fraga 531 La ventana y el balcón sobre avenida Providencia (1931/1981): evolución y permanencia de la arquitectura doméstica.................................................................. Pedro Bannen Lanata 544 Towards the Modern Block: Evolution of an Urban Type in Kay Fisker’s Prewar Architecture..................................................................................................................... Guia Baratelli 554 La casa en Isle of Wight (1955-1956) de James Gowan, austeridad en la modernidad británica...................................................................................................... Alicia Cantabella Gallego 566 Villeggiatura urbana: una residencia secundaria en el núcleo urbano de São Paulo................................................................................................................................. Sara Caon 576 Otredades en la habitabilidad de un Monterrey moderno: primeros edificios de departamentos como alternativa a la vivienda unifamiliar.......................................... María de los Ángeles Castillo Soriano, Alberto Canavati Espinosa 586 Brutalismo doméstico. Un espacio para la contemplación......................................... Rubens Cortés Cano 597 IX Profundidad espacial. Abriendo el muro. De la habitación sin nombre al jardín de invierno............................................................................................................................ Marta Pérez Rodríguez 1599 Rooms. Aldo Rossi and the House in Ghiffa: Symbol, Dust and Desire.................... Michelangelo Pivetta, Vincenzo Moschetti 1609 La colina habitada: características morfológicas y modos de habitar el campo...... Luigi Ramazzotti 1620 El studiolo como teatro de la mente............................................................................... Jaime Ramos Alderete, Ana Isabel Santolaria Castellanos 1632 Modos de habitar en contexto de montaña: la región oriental del Atlas en Marruecos........................................................................................................................ Miguel Reimão Costa, Desidério Batista 1641 La casa en Santiago de Chile a fines del siglo XVIII: valores materiales y simbólicos........................................................................................................................ Marisol Richter Scheuch 1652 Hombres de condición inquieta y despegada: el fascinante espectáculo de la precariedad...................................................................................................................... Carmen Rodríguez Pedret 1660 Maid Rooms and Laundry Sinks Matter: Modern Houses in a Non-modern Context............................................................................................................................. Silvana Rubino 1671 Inquietante domesticidad............................................................................................... Alberto Rubio Garrido 1679 Houses for Whom? Between the Habitat and the Inhabiting, on Henri Lefebvre’s Quest................................................................................................................................. Teresa V. Sá 1688 Una casa es una «machine de l’émotion»..................................................................... Javier Sáez Gastearena 1698 Espacio doméstico e higiene. Políticas del habitar en Sevilla entre los siglos XIX y XX................................................................................................................................... Victoriano Sainz Gutiérrez 1710 La vivienda de los fareros, entre la casa y la máquina................................................ Santiago Sánchez Beitia, Fernando Acale Sánchez 1720 Naturalezas en la intimidad; acerca del jardín en los espacios domésticos contemporáneos............................................................................................................. Juana Sánchez Gómez, Diego Jiménez López, Isabel Jiménez López 1732 Cármenes, pequeñas historias domésticas.................................................................. Juan Antonio Sánchez Muñoz, Vincent Morales Garoffolo 1743 XVI Algunas casas modernas: de la caverna al hogar........................................................ Rafael Sánchez Sánchez 1755 Recuerdos de una escalera. Experiencias domésticas desplazadas en la obra de Siza................................................................................................................................... Juan Antonio Serrano García 1764 ¿No habitar es modo de habitar? Siglos de permanencia de mitos y criminalización................................................................................................................ Sonia Maria Taddei Ferraz, Evelyn Garcia da Cruz, Paula Andréa Santos da Silva 1778 Tres modos de habitar la casa popular: cereal, vid y olivar........................................ Salvador Ubago Palma 1787 La expresividad de la racionalidad: La casa estudio para Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo ............................................................................................................................... Luis Villarreal Ugarte 1800 Habitar en Iberoamérica.................................................................................................. Graciela María Viñuales 1811 BLOQUE TEMÁTICO 5 Miradas externas: la casa en la pintura, el cine y la literatura Habitar la aventura: casas de Jules Verne.................................................................... Juan Calatrava Escobar 1824 Casas vacías, olvidadas y recordadas: arte, literatura y memoria............................. Marta Llorente Díaz 1836 La villa Arpel: machine à habiter, “donde todo se comunica…” (Mon Oncle, J. Tati, 1958)......................................................................................................................... Antonio Pizza de Nanno 1850 El relato doméstico desde una estrategia vertical....................................................... Agustín Gor Gómez 1855 Fondos de escena en el cine de Ozu............................................................................ Carlos Barberá Pastor 1868 Habitar tras la Transición: los hogares cinematográficos de P. Almodóvar y A. Gómez.............................................................................................................................. Ruth Barranco Raimundo 1879 Espacios domésticos en transición y la ciudad moderna en Ohayo (1959) de Yasujiro Ozu..................................................................................................................... Bernardita M. Cubillos Muñoz 1888 XVII La casa Stahl, una vida de ficción................................................................................. Daniel Díez Martínez 1898 Habitaciones para la escritura: el autor y su espacio de trabajo................................ Tomás García Píriz, F. Javier Castellano Pulido 1909 Ámbitos privados de la residencia colectiva en el imaginario cinematográfico español............................................................................................................................. Josefina González Cubero, Alba Zarza Arribas 1920 Los registros de la luz. Vermeer y Hopper.................................................................... Luis Eduardo Iáñez García 1929 Allí reside el tiempo, mi infancia. La cabaña telúrica de Andréi Tarkovski................ Alejandro Infantes Pérez, Javier Muñoz Godino 1940 La casa, la calle y el territorio. Narraciones fotográficas de Guido Guidi................. Marco Lecis 1951 Entre la literatura y el cine. La casa de Sokúrov en El segundo círculo.................... Pablo López Santana 1961 Habitar un espacio, contemplar un paisaje: mujer, jardín y arquitectura doméstica en China (desde el siglo X hasta el XVIII)................................................... Antonio Mezcua López 1972 Registro de una mirada, Cape Cod House.................................................................... Jorge Gabriel Molinero Sánchez, María del Carmen Vílchez Lara 1981 La casa como metáfora del viaje. Fotógrafos y arquitectos en Mallorca................... Maria Josep Mulet Gutiérrez, Joan Carles Oliver Torelló, María Sebastián Sebastián 1993 La mirada indiscreta: la ventana en el cine como generador de emociones............ Patricia Pozo Alemán 2004 El telar es el cuerpo, el cuerpo es la casa..................................................................... Anita Puig Gómez 2016 El espacio doméstico en el cine de Jacques Tati: del bloque tradicional a la vivienda sobre ruedas ................................................................................................... Helia de San Nicolás Juárez 2024 Fisonomías arquitectónicas. La mediatización de casas de personalidades en Galicia............................................................................................................................... Jesús Ángel Sánchez-García 2034 Mujeres y jardines en la China clásica: espacios domésticos en Sueño en el Pabellón Rojo................................................................................................................... Beatriz Valverde Vázquez 2046 Notas autobiográficas de los autores............................................................................ 2054 XVIII La “casa medieval” de Coimbra: arqueología de la arquitectura en la desmitificación de arquetipos The “Medieval House” of Coimbra: Archeology of Architecture in the Demystification of Archetypes António Ginja Archaeologist and Art historian, Guest Lecturer, Centro de Estudos Sociais and Universidade de Coimbra, [email protected] Resumen En el antiguo arrabal medieval de Coimbra, un edificio residencial ha asumido tradicionalmente la denominación de "casa medieval". A este calificativo contribuye su arquitectura, consistente con lo que estaba en boga en las ciudades portuguesas del período medieval tardío. No obstante, la apertura de sondeos arqueológicos parietales puso al descubierto técnicas, materiales y sistemas constructivos cuya utilización se prolonga hasta el siglo XVIII. La interpretación arqueológica y el análisis histórico-artístico de la arquitectura de la “casa medieval” de Coimbra ofrecen una singular oportunidad para reflexionar sobre algunos paradigmas arquitectónicos. Comparándola con otros edificios y con fuentes iconográficas, se analiza su cronotipología y se demostra la diacronía de los modelos constructivos adoptados en esta casa. Discutiendo su epíteto cronológico, se reflexiona sobre la persistencia temporal de arquetipos constructivos y sobre la tensión entre espacios privados y públicos, potenciada por la complementariedad entre habitar y trabajar en el mismo espacio. Palabras clave: Coimbra, casa medieval, vivencias, arquetipos, diacronías Bloque temático: La casa: mitos, arquetipos, modos de habitar Abstract Located in the old medieval outskirts of Coimbra, a residential building has traditionally been named "medieval house”, due to its architecture, consistent with what was in vogue in Portuguese cities of the late medieval period. However, the opening of parietal archaeological surveys in the building revealed techniques, materials and construction systems which were used right until the eighteenth century. The archaeological interpretation and the art-historical analysis of the architecture of the “medieval house” of Coimbra offer a unique opportunity to reflect on some architectural paradigms. Comparing it with other buildings and with iconographic sources, its chronotypology will be analized and the diachrony of the constructive models adopted in this house will be demonstrated. Questioning its chronological epithet, the persistence of certain habits and constructive archetypes will be explored, as well as the tension between private and public spaces, deepened by living and working in the same place. Keywords: Coimbra, medieval house, inhabiting ways, archetypes, diachronys Topic: The house: myths, archetypes, forms of inhabitation 1407 António Ginja Introduction In downtown Coimbra, the city’s old medieval quarter, is the charismatic building of number 4-6, Rua Sargento-Mor. With its singular architecture and unusual floor plan, it holds a cherished place in local cultural imagery. It is known as one of the oldest vernacular houses in the city and is frequently given the epithet of the "medieval house", as, indeed, it is designated in the Portuguese Government database of heritage, SIPA.1 Nevertheless, to date, no study has truly addressed the chronology of its construction nor has any been able to construct an argument to prove that it is indeed medieval. In August 2017, archaeological surveys were made by removing the outer layers of mortar of the walls of the building,2 which enabled an unprecedented reading of its sequence of construction. The construction techniques and the materials used in the "medieval house" finally came to light. But the data collected showed a wider timeframe higher than had initially been assumed, and new challenges in how to interpret it were laid down. 1. Coimbra’s “medieval house” Although documented since 1613, information about the street of Rua Sargento-Mor, the home of Coimbra’s so-called "medieval house", is scarce. In 1778, it was stated that the street stretched «from the quay to [the church of] São Bartolomeu»,3 and the building is still in close proximity to this monument. In the year 957, a letter of donation mentioned «houses with vegetable gardens» next to this medieval Christian temple,4 suggesting that there was already a nucleus of housing in this area in the 10th century. Despite the proven antiquity of this area of Coimbra, there is no documentary data that can tell us the origin of the "medieval house". The building is its own true archaeological document, and contains the only features which are available to help discern the chronology and nature of its construction. Built with a rather intricate system of construction, the house occupied a corner plot and was erected on a triangular area. This arrangement, unusual but not unheard of, resulted, together with a later building, in a wedge-shaped urban space. The singular means by which this plot is occupied lends precious help in dating the building, as it is clearly visible in the early cartography of Coimbra, as in the Mappa Thopografico from 1772.5 Going back to the period before the third quarter of the 18th century, therefore, it seems that as such there is no reason not to be consigned, on first analysis, to the medieval or late medieval period. Hampered by the scarcity of space and the subsequent cost of land on the street, vernacular houses of late medieval Portuguese cities were constructed on narrow and elongated plots. 1 Margarida Silva, “Casa Medieval na Rua Sargento-Mor, n.º 4 a 6", Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico (web site), 2005, accessed September 21st, 2018, http://www.monumentos.gov.pt/Site/APP_PagesUser/SIPA.aspx?id=23038. 2 Sixteen archaeological surveys were made in the walls, under the scope of the author’s ongoing doctoral project, Para uma Arqueologia crítica da Arquitetura (Towards a Critical Archaeology of Architecture). The work, with the collaboration of members of the collective Há Baixa, were carried out with the author’s directions. 3 José Loureiro, Toponímia de Coimbra (Coimbra: Câmara Municipal de Coimbra, 1964), 270-77. 4 Jorge Alarcão, Coimbra: a Montagem do Cenário Urbano (Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, 2008), 271-72. 5 There are also panoramic views of Coimbra, such as that by Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg, circa 1598, Lorenzo Magalotti, 1668-69, or James Murphy, 1798. None, however, clearly represents the area where the "medieval house" is placed, and as such they are of little use to this study. 1408 The “Medieval House” of Coimbra: Archeology of Architecture in the Demystification of Chronotypologies They consisted of one or more floors – ground floor and storeys – and relied mostly on local materials such as stone, wood, clay and straw. Windows and doors were reduced to the bare minimum, and stairways, usually made of wood, could be moveable or fixed.6 In addition to being a dwelling, the house was often also allocated for work and commercial activity. Small family businesses, mostly in the ground floors, spilled onto the street, selling from stalls. The storeys were often extended with a balcony – jetty – which in the middle of the 15th century could occupy as much as a third of the width of the street. Expanding on the area of the plot, staircases, stalls and jetties extended onto and over the street, restricting public space and causing constant tension between individuals and public authorities.7 Late medieval Portuguese cities were deeply ruralised and accommodated for the demographic growth of the 12th and 13th centuries. They were not infrequently limited by walled ramparts and their growth was compressed and essentially outdoor.8 The street was a natural extension of life and trade, and was both the antechamber of the house and the extension of work. Figure 1: Coimbra’s “medieval house” Source: A. Ginja (2017) 6 On vernacular late medieval houses, see, for example, Manuel Conde, Construir, Habitar: A Casa Medieval (Braga: CITCEM, 2011); Luísa Trindade, A Casa Corrente em Coimbra, dos Finais da Idade Média aos Inícios da Época Modern (Coimbra: Câmara Municipal de Coimbra, 2002). 7 On the regulations on the occupancy of public space in medieval Portuguese cities, see Luísa Trindade, Urbanismo na Composição de Portugal (Coimbra: Universidade de Coimbra, 2013). 8 On life in late medieval cities in Europe and Portugal, see, for example, José Mattoso: História da Vida Privada em Portugal, A Idade Média (Lisbon: Temas e Debates, 2016); Nelson Mota, A Arquitectura do Quotidiano (Coimbra: DAFCT, 2010); Jacques le Goff, Por Amor das Cidades: Conversas com Jean Lebrun, trans. Reginaldo Moraes (São Paulo: UNESP, 1998). On demography during the Middele Age, see Simone Roux, Le Monde des Villes au Moyen Age: XIe-XVe Siécle (Paris: Hachette, 1994). 1409 António Ginja Generally speaking, the whole of Coimbra’s "medieval house" is only supported by three walls, which define the ground floor: the west wall, belonging in fact to the neighbouring building, which the façade and rear wall abut. A series of beams was applied on the façade and the rear wall in a fan shape, covering the triangular area of the ground floor. On these beams, three storeys were erected, successively jettied over the street. Protruding out from the load-bearing frontage rim joists, the beams extended over the street, increasing the area of each new storey. A new rear wall was erected and a new gable opposite the wall of the neighbouring building, in tandem with the three new floors. Neither the rear wall nor the gable were jettied, the jetties being applied exclusively to the frontages which faced the street, encroaching on public space but not on the area of the neighbouring plots. The ground floor was built with more durable materials. Stone masonry was chosen for the façade and the rear wall, the door jambs were single stone blocks and there was a robust wooden lintel, resting on corbels. In the upper storeys, however, a lighter and more flexible arrangement was chosen for the structure of the frontages, gable and rear wall, built in wood, 'fishtail' bricks and lime mortar. Nevertheless, they were all different. The frontages were erected with props and struts, and filled out with pieces of bricks secured by braces. The rear wall was built with props into which the bricks slotted horizontally. The gable was made with props and struts, into which the bricks slotted diagonally, in a herringbone pattern. Notwithstanding what could be seen of the building arrangements via the archaeological surveys, it was not possible to fully examine the architectural complexity of Coimbra’s "medieval house". The advanced state of degradation and inaccessibility to certain areas,9 in addition to the changes brought about by recent renovations, limited the potential interpretation of the archaeological data. A proper archaeological analysis was thus required for an adequate architectural assessment, encompassing the building, materials and construction systems in their appropriate historical-artistic context. Figure 2: Coimbra’s “medieval house” (survey 1) Source: A. Ginja (2017) 9 The effects of at least one fire and years of structural erosion due to xylophagous agents were evident in the building. The ground floor and the top floor were still occupied, which also restricted the archaeological work. 1410 The “Medieval House” of Coimbra: Archeology of Architecture in the Demystification of Chronotypologies 2. Demystifying architectural archetypes In addition to increasing the internal area by appropriating public space, the jetties also helped compensate for and prevent any bending of the beams of each new floor.10 This technique can still be seen today in medieval buildings in various European historical centres, such as Lavenham in England, Tours in France or Covarrubias in Spain. In Portugal, however, this technique fell into disuse from the 16th century onwards, especially after 1502, when D. Manuel I forbade structural features from extending over the streets of Lisbon.11 Moreover, by the mid16th century, several other European and American cities, such as Madrid, Seville, Palermo, Siena, Rome and Mexico City, already had regulations for standardising their urban environments.12 Thus, Coimbra’s "medieval house" conforms to the parameters of late medieval construction which were common in the main cities of the southern European kingdoms until the middle of the 16th century, not only from a structural point of view but also in its urban setting. The Great Earthquake, which took place in Portugal in 1755, put this secular form of construction to the test, especially in Lisbon, where it was particularly calamitous. Although there is no record of the types of construction that resisted the earthquake best, it is likely that wooden buildings, such as those in the square of Chafariz de Dentro,13 which were lighter and more flexible, may have withstood the impact better than those that were built of stone and lime and were heavier and more rigid. The Pombaline cage – a sophisticated mesh of wooden props and crossbars, decreed for the reconstruction of the whole of downtown Lisbon by the Marquis of Pombal, minister of the realm –, may thus have been the result, according to Enlightenment criteria, of rationalised, systematised and industrialised appropriation of models of construction which preceded the 1755 catastrophe.14 Since the prohibition, ordained by D. Manuel I, of building projections over the street, it has tended to be the case in historiography concerned with such cases that all old buildings with jetties on the façade are consigned to the Middle Ages.15 But the systematic adoption of the Pombaline cage in Lisbon buildings, documented between the second half of the 18th century and 1930,16 unequivocally demonstrates that the use of wooden frontages persevered well beyond the chronological limits of the medieval. In this case, can the construction technique based on wooden frontages, with the addition of jetties over the street, have also survived beyond the medieval period? 10 Helder Carita, Bairro Alto, Tipologias e Modos Arquitectónicos (Lisbon: Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, 1994), 105. 11 Trindade, A casa corrente…, 45. 12 Laura Fernandéz-González, “O Modelo Digital da Pintura Rua Nova: Recreando a Arquitetura Quinhentista de Lisboa,” in A Cidade Global: Lisboa no Renascimento, coord. Andrea Cardoso (Lisbon: MNAA, 2017), 83. 13 Carita, Bairro Alto…, 81. 14 José França, Lisboa Pombalina e o Iluminismo (Lisbon: Bertrand, 1987), 178; Carita, Bairro Alto…, 105. 15 João Fagulha, Reabilitação e Conservação do Património Arquitectónico, n.º 4, Cadernos Técnicos (Lisbon: OASRS, 2016), 27. 16 França, Lisboa Pombalina…, 167. 1411 António Ginja In Porto, on the east side of Praça da Ribeira, some buildings with jettied frontages would have been built already into the 16th century.17 In Lisbon, buildings of this type, still preserved in Rua dos Cegos and Rua de Benformoso, date back to the 16th and 17th centuries.18 Several of these buildings, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, could also be seen in London until 1901, for example on Wych Street.19 In Germany, the World Heritage city of Quedlinburg is home to a vast array of jettied buildings constructed between the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century.20 And in Spain, the towns of La Alberca and Morragaz in the region of Salamanca also have large collections of these buildings, which as it seems were erected until the mid-19th century.21 The above-mentioned cases unequivocally show that jettied frontages over the street indeed persisted far beyond the Medieval Period, in Portugal as well as in other places. Moreover, one does not need to leave Coimbra to discover an example of a vernacular house with a wooden frontage and jetty over public space, built in the 18th century. Once part of the medieval quarter of the city, Terreiro da Erva was home to the church of Santa Justa, since disappeared. The church hosted religious services until 1708, the year it was abandoned,22 and then fell into ruin, with little more than a few arches remaining today. At an unknown date, residential buildings were erected around its ruins. A house was set up on the old nave of the church with a wooden frontage and jetty, expanding the area of the dwelling into the public space north of the church. Although the exact chronology of the construction of this house is not known, it could not have been built before the church was abandoned and, thus, not before the first decade of the 18th century. 3. Towards a critical archaeology of Coimbra’s "medieval house" Given the wide possible timespan in which vernacular houses with wooden frontages and jetties were built, in Portugal and other European countries, doubt still remains. To which chronological period then does Coimbra’s "medieval house" date from? In architectural cases of this nature, cloaked in chronological ambiguity, any analysis that allows absolute dating is usually indispensable. Yet it is not always possible to perform laboratory tests or, given the advanced state of degradation of the structures, even to collect the necessary samples. In these circumstances, as is the case of Coimbra’s "medieval house", the materials used often lead to the date of the construction in question. The archaeological surveys in the walls of the "medieval house" revealed, however, that not all materials utilized dated back to specific construction periods. Stone, lime and wood, documented over a vast chronological 17 Isabel Sereno and Paulo Dordio, “Praça da Ribeira e área envolvente”, Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico, (sitio web), 1995, accessed October 3rd, 2018, http://www.monumentos.gov.pt/Site/APP_PagesUser/SIPA.aspx?id=6145. 18 Carita, Bairro Alto..., 105-106. 19 Walter Thornbury, “The Strand (Northern Tributaries): Clement's Inn, New Inn, Lyon's Inn etc.,” in Old and New London, vol. 3 (London: Cassel Petter & Galpin, 1878), 32-35. 20 “Collegiate Church, Castle and Old Town of Quedlinburg,” UNESCO, World Heritage List (web site), n.d., accessed October 4th, 2018, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/535. 21 Information gathered orally from Ayuntamiento de La Alberca, Ayuntamiento de Mogarraz and Museo de Mogarraz, 11 October 2018. 22 Loureiro, Toponímia de Coimbra, 19. 1412 The “Medieval House” of Coimbra: Archeology of Architecture in the Demystification of Chronotypologies range, are typologically difficult to date, while 'fishtail' brick, in turn, has been neglected in specialised studies. With their extremities cut into triangles, 'fishtail' bricks make a perfect joint with wooden props, producing practical, lightweight and flexible walls. Their appearance in Portuguese construction has therefore been informally associated with the Pombaline reforms in downtown Lisbon, although in actual fact there are no studies that confirm or deny this. In Coimbra, where this material frequently appears in demolitions for urban restoration, few attempts have been made to attribute a chronology to it. Nonetheless, during the restoration of the Colégio da Santíssima Trindade, in the upper part of the city, a structure with this type of brick was discovered which was dated between the end of the 16th century and the middle of the 18th century.23 In building work on Rua Fernandes Tomás, partitions with 'fishtail' bricks were found, built between the 18th and 19th centuries.24 While downtown, in Rua Direita, the gable of a demolished building, probably dated to between the 18th and 19th centuries, was built entirely with these bricks.25 Figure 3: Coimbra’s “medieval house” (survey 12) Source: A. Ginja (2017) Although data from new archaeological interventions may possibly contribute to a better chronological demarcation of 'fishtail' bricks, it can be inferred from the examples given that they were used over a fairly extensive period of time. Used in Coimbra since at least the middle of the 18th century to the 19th century, buildings with these bricks cannot, in view of the currently known data, date back to beyond the early modern period. Since 'fishtail' bricks constitute the predominant material in the storeys of the "medieval house", evidence of their use in a premodern period must be awaited in order for this building to be unequivocally consigned to the Medieval Period. The system and the materials used in the construction of Coimbra’s "medieval house" are chronologically ambiguous and neither in isolation can make a claim to date it beyond any 23 António Ginja and Sónia Filipe, “Intervenção Arqueológica no Âmbito das Obras de Requalificação do Colégio da Trindade,” Report for DGPC (Portugal), Reference: 2002/1 (280), 2017. 24 Preliminary results. Ongoing intervention by Coimbra City Council under the direction of Raquel Santos, who kindly granted this information. 25 Mónica Ginja, “Levantamento Fotográfico das Parcelas da Segunda Fase dos Trabalhos no Âmbito do Projecto de Inserção do MLM,” Report for IPPAR (Portugal), Reference: c.s: 321921, July 15, 2005. 1413