The Residence of Portela ( pt, Casa da Portela) is a 17th-century country house located in the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
of
Paços de Brandão
Paços de Brandão () is a Portuguese parish in the municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, and Aveiro District. The population in 2011 was 4,867, in an area of 3.56 km2. It is 22 km from Porto, and is part of the Porto Metropolitan Area.
...
, in the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Santa Maria da Feira
Santa Maria da Feira () is a city and a municipality in Aveiro District in Portugal, 23 km from central Porto. The population in 2011 was 139,309,PortugueseCentro
district of Aveiro
Aveiro District ( pt, Distrito de Aveiro, or ) is located in the central coastal region of Portugal. The capital of the district is the city of Aveiro, which also serves as the seat of Aveiro Municipality.
Aveiro District is bordered by the Po ...
By 1629, the residence was identified as the property of Francisco Saraiva and his wife British Aranha.
The home was acquired by the noble family Pintos e Almeidas in 1788.
During the 19th century there were various projects to reform the building and its spaces.
Architecture
The manorhouse is located in an urban space, on a berm along a main roadway, that includes gardens and forest to the rear of the building.
The two-storey horizontal "U"-shape plan extends across the property, with inset secondary vain and a transversal chimney along the rectangular corp, covered in tiled rooftops. The structure includes a central portico with semi-circular frontispiece, interrupted by the coat-of-arms of the Pintos e Almeidas clan. The frontal facade includes fenestration that divides the floors in two, and includes a symmetrical layout, with framed windows and doors. On the first floor, from the main door, there are graded lateral rectangular windows, separated by larger double windows. On the second floor, are windows broken by a dual window-doors with varanda. The reclined secondary space, also two floors high, with rectangular doors and niches, and second floor that includes four vains broken by a pronounced cornices.
To the left, is a small terrace accessible by simple staircase consisting of six columns. To the rear, the open patio includes varanda and staircase, also accessible by annex gate.