Houses and Gardens of Portugal

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PORTUGAL
HE HISTORIC manor houses of Portugal are one j I'''I'i / A of Europe's best-kept secrets. This book reveals
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^ their beauty and diversity, ranging from austere
' '' ' I Vi '' mB^ defensive towers like Torre de Giela, through the '' I I Hi ' I Arab influence bringing ceramic tiles and water cis-
terns, to elegant Renaissance mansions with their I extensive gardens and pools, and pavilions such as
' ¦¦ I '^i i^l Bacalhoa. The wealth that poured in from Brazilian
gold and diamond mines helped to pay for some of the richly decorated manors and after a period of austerity during much of the seventeenth century, while the country was at war with Spain, once again an exuberance of style flourished. The architecture reflects these varieties, from Islamic to the Italian Renaissance and the French-inspired U-shaped houses often incorporating a chapel.
0The gardens of Portugal also combine a unique... Tovább

Fülszöveg

, ¦ "I'ill houses and gardens of
'1','V
I


¦ .'t ' M
wi
iil
V
PORTUGAL
HE HISTORIC manor houses of Portugal are one j I'''I'i / A of Europe's best-kept secrets. This book reveals
T
^ their beauty and diversity, ranging from austere
' '' ' I Vi '' mB^ defensive towers like Torre de Giela, through the '' I I Hi ' I Arab influence bringing ceramic tiles and water cis-
terns, to elegant Renaissance mansions with their I extensive gardens and pools, and pavilions such as
' ¦¦ I '^i i^l Bacalhoa. The wealth that poured in from Brazilian
gold and diamond mines helped to pay for some of the richly decorated manors and after a period of austerity during much of the seventeenth century, while the country was at war with Spain, once again an exuberance of style flourished. The architecture reflects these varieties, from Islamic to the Italian Renaissance and the French-inspired U-shaped houses often incorporating a chapel.
0The gardens of Portugal also combine a unique variety of influences, some drawing on the country's colonial past in Brazil and the East Indies. Portugal's mild climate is favourable to many exotic trees and plants which from the sixteenth centiuy onwards, were imported in the holds of the ships return-SJ II ing from their extensive voyages in the Far East,
Africa, and South America. The fortunes derived from its colonies enabled Portugal's garden design to be given spectacular expression in what became a distinctive style. From Rome came tesselated paving and enclosed gardens, from France and Italy box gardens and topiaries.
HOUSES AND GARDENS OF PORTUGAL is divided into the historical regions of: Greater Lisbon; Sintra; the Tagus; the Mondego and Douro region; and the Minho region. The author discusses gardens of all periods and offers an insight into the histoiy and character of those who lived in the splendid manors. The gardens and the interiors and exteriors of the houses are lavishly presented in superb colour with photographs which bring alive the varied delights of this country. Vissza