The architecture of Póvoa de Varzim, in Portugal, demonstrates a broad variety of architectural styles over its thousand years of history. 11th-century Romanesque, 16th-century Mannerism, 18th-century Baroque, late 18th-century neoclassicism, early 20th-century Portuguese modernism and late 20th- to early 21st-century contemporary architectural styles and more are all represented in Póvoa de Varzim. As a whole it represents a rich eclectic tradition and innovation shaped by the people, their beliefs and economy.
Castro
In the period of the Castro culture, stonework appeared in the 5th century BC in early huts, which existed beginning in 800 or 900 BC in Cividade de Terroso, the main local settlement, and gave way to granite-built family units with multiple houses surrounding a central paved yard. The family compound included a kitchen, warehouse, sleeping areas, a barn, meeting places and even funerary sites, where the ashes of the deceased were deposited.
One characteristic product was Pedras formosas, Portuguese for "beauty stones". These were elaborated and sculpted slabs used as door frames for the inner room, but none can currently be seen in Cividade de Terroso. Another characteristic element of Castro culture was warrior statues, representations of the leaders and glorification of the ancestors, which evolved from the stele statues of the Bronze Age and later became associated with Mediterranean and Celtic elements. The Castro jewelry had Celtic style, but the female jewelry found in Póvoa de Varzim also shows Mediterranean influence due to trade relations with the Carthaginians.
Buildings are typically circular, with diameters of between 4 and 5 meters and with walls 30 to 40 cm thick. The granite rocks were split and placed in two lines, with the smoother side on the outside and the inside of the house.
Preromanesque and Romanesque
In the region, the São Pedro de Rates monastery church (rebuilding efforts began in 1096) is one of the oldest and best preserved Romanesque sites in Portugal. The church also shows elements from the Pre-romanesque and Roman periods.
An early construction phase between the late 9th century and early 10th century is known due to numerous fragments, namely mullions, a capital with foliage, and an altar decorated with a cross. The probable Pre-romanesque narthex was discovered in recent archaeological surveys in an area of the building where a Roman stele was also found, which was later Christianized in the 6th-7th century, and reused in the Pre-romanesque period.
Rates is one of the fundamental works of the first Portuguese Romanesque, and the project was modified several times during the 12th century, when the proper Romanesque architecture of the building was established. The relevance of its architecture and sculptures with diverse architectural influences makes this church a case study that is reflected in the production of further Romanesque art of the nascent kingdom of Portugal.
Closer to the city and in the vicinity of Rates, the Rio Mau São Cristóvão Church (rebuilt in 1151) is another well preserved Romanesque basilica, the remains of a medieval monastery that already existed in 1103. It is known for its northern dragon and griffin portal and capitals with anthropomorphic figures and strange boats that appear to be Norman boats, which have been used for the study of local ethnography and history. The iconography of the capitals and the representations on the tympanums of the three portals are major monuments of Portuguese art in the 12th and early 13th centuries. This small church is one of the most debated Romanesque works in Portugal, due to the quality of its sculptures.
Several elements in the old Church of Amorim, such as some of the corbels and a richly decorated capital, taken to the Soares dos Reis Museum in Porto in early 20th century, suggest it is an earlier Romanesque basilica. The capital is sculpted with episodes from the Chanson de Roland, depicting the Battle of Roncesvalles, in which Roland with his sword Durandal attacks and arrests Chernuble, anthropomorphic figures playing the horn Olifant, and Olivier, who fell in combat.
Gothic
The old main church of Póvoa de Varzim, in Largo das Dores, had indications of Romanesque architecture, such as the snake over the main portal that gave rise to the local legend of the Great Snake, although the portal that survived into the modern period also had Gothic elements. This Gothic design was also present in the icons from the old main church, such as the icon of Our Lady of Varzim (13th century) and those of Saint James and Saint Elmo, both possibly from the 14th century.