2005 © Oficina Virtual de Turismo
In 1765 the Court of Appeal Gaol was rebuilt in Pombaline style (the Portuguese architectural style developed in the 18th century, named after Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal) by the initiative of João de Almada e Melo, the prison governor at the time. This project was designed by the architect Eugénio dos Santos and carried out in a geometric sequence of windows (103 on the whole). This polygonal-shaped building has 4 façades, two of which are related to its main functions: the main façade, in São Bento Street, allows you to enter the Court of Appeal’s sector and through the main staircase you can go to the Court Room, rigorously restored. The other façade, which is today’s main entrance to the building in Cordoaria Street, was formerly constructed for the direct passage of prisoners. This building is an explicit expression of the disciplinary principles in architecture built around the prisoners’ yard, to where the cells on the 1st floor, the surveillance corridors on the 2nd floor, the 3rd floor and the chapel converge. In the smallest but not less important façade, topped by sculptures and sheltered by an 18th century fountain, there is a big window with two shutters leading to the balconies on the 2nd floor.
|
|