Casa Do Infante
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The Casa do Infante (''House of the Prince''), or alternately as the ''Alfândega Velha'' (''Old Customshouse'') is a historical house 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
Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória is a civil parish in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the former parishes Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso Santo Ildefonso () is a former civi ...
, 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
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
, in northern
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. The house was originally built in the 14th century as
customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...
and
mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
, although its present condition derives mostly from a remodelling carried out in the 17th century. Its name derived from an oral tradition that suggested the house was the birthplace of
Prince Henry the Navigator ''Dom'' Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator ( pt, Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15t ...
in 1394. The Casa do Infante is located in the historical centre of Porto, designated
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...


History

The customshouse was constructed in 1325 by royal decree on top of a Roman villa. References to the ''Casas da Alfândega'' (''customshouses'') in the next two years, suggest that it had already been completed and in use. The mediaeval customshouse began being built around 1354 in the reign of King D.
Afonso IV Afonso IVEnglish: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin). (; 8 February 129128 May 1357), called the Brave ( pt, o Bravo, links=no), was King ...
(during the context of disputes between the himself and the
Bishop of Porto The Portuguese Roman Catholic Diocese of Porto ( la, Dioecesis Portugallensis) (Oporto) is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Braga. Its see at Porto is in the Norte region, and the second largest city in Portugal. History The diocese was pro ...
. Afonso intended to charge taxes for goods carried by ships navigating the
Douro river The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part of ...
, thereby reducing the power of the bishop. Built near the river, the new Royal customshouse
minted Minted is an online marketplace of premium design goods created by independent artists and designers. The company sources art and design from a community of more than 16,000 independent artists from around the world. Minted offers artists two bus ...
coin, acted as a warehouse and included living quarters for the employees. Archaeological excavations revealed that the building was large and had two, high towers linked by a courtyard. Chronicler
Fernão Lopes Fernão Lopes () (c. 1385 – after 1459) was a Portuguese chronicler appointed by King Edward of Portugal. Fernão Lopes wrote the history of Portugal, but only a part of his work remained. His way of writing was based on oral discourse, ...
indicated that Infante D. Henrique was born to King D.
John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I o ...
and
Queen Philippa Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted as regent in 1346,Strickla ...
in Porto on 4 March 1394. It is believed that, the future-
Henry the Navigator ''Dom'' Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator ( pt, Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15t ...
(who would sponsor Portuguese expeditions during the
Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafarin ...
), would likely have been born here: the customshouse was the only royal building in the city and that it had living quarters for the royal employees, it is likely that the Cortes occupied the building at that time of his birth. This would confirm a long-held oral tradition.The Prince and Porto. Oporto tourism official website.
/ref> At the end of the 14th century, was the first reference to the Portuense ''Casa da Moeda'' (''House of Coin'') during the reign of King D. Fernando I, that allowed dating of the open space in the principal entrance. In 1587, was the last reference to the work on the ''Casa da Moeda'', but a few years later (1607), a royal letter extinguished the institution. In 1628, there were new references to work in the old ''House of Coin''. The Finance inspector issued an order in 1656 to move the customshouse to the remnants of the ''House'', and to promptly complete its reuse; starting in the 15th century, the customshouse underwent several expansions and re-modellings that altered its original structure. The most important remodelling occurred in 1677, under the reign of King D. Peter II, when the building was virtually rebuilt. The inner courtyard was kept, but the towers were greatly reduced in height, while the front of the building (facing the street) gained two extra storeys, with a large staircase leading to the living quarters in the second floor. The front of the building incorporated the functions of the towers and the storage rooms were greatly enlarged. A commemorative inscription, dated 1677, refers to this change: :''SVB PRINCIPE PETRO / ANNO MDCLXXVII / POR DIRECÇÃO DO MARQVES DE FRONTEIRA / GENTILHOMEM DA CAMARA DE S.A. E SEV VEA/DOR DA FAZENDA'' :''By Prince Peter / Year 16771688 / By direction of the Marquess of Fronteira / Gentleman of the Câmara of S.A. His Inspector of Finances'' In 1860, the work and construction of the new customshouse in Miragaia, wherein the services were gradually transferred to the new site. In 1894, a new
Neo-Manueline Neo-Manueline is a revival style of architecture which drew from the 16th century Manueline Late Gothic architecture of Portugal. Neo-Manueline constructions have been built across Portugal, Brazil, and the Lusophone world (the former Portuguese ...
plaque was installed on the principal entrance, commemorating the birth of the Infante D. Henrique. The building was re-constructed in 1923, that saw the building obtain a new floor over the principal facade. Between 1957 and 1978, the DGEMN ''Direção-Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais'' (''General Directorate for Buildings and National Monuments'') began a series of projects to recuperate and remodel the old customs house. Beginning with surveys and excavations, there were a series of works to restore and consolidate the structure. In 1960, upgrades to the electrical systems and the installation of new lighting highlighted further work on the reinforced concrete pavements. This included supply and placement of wood on the ceiling and halls of the central patio, concrete staircases, work on the windows, sanitation and drainage of the spaces, as well as complementary restoration of the walls, stone slabs and facades. In 1991, the beginning of work to transform the house into the ''Arquivo Histórico Municipal do Porto'' (''Porto Municipal Historical Archives''), that included an initial phase of archaeological intervention (since 1995) under the responsibility of Manuel Luis Real (director of the AHMP) and archaeologists Paulo Dordio Gomes and Ricardo Teixeira. They discovered vestiges of a large Roman foundation, remains of a mosaic pavement. The second phase of the project, under the direction of Nuno Tasso de Sousa, to transform the interior and exterior to serve its needs: it now houses an exhibition of the history of Porto, including a scale model of medieval Porto, and th
municipal archives
supported by
dedicated library


Architecture

The Casa do Infante is addorsed to buildings in the historic centre of the city, along the riverbank, with its principal facade oriented to the inclined slope descending the ''Praça do Infante D. Henrique'' towards the ''Largo do Terreiro'' and access to the ''Cais da Estiva'' along the Douro. The plan consist of four rectangular, juxtapositioned articulate spaces covered in differentiated of articulated ceiling tiles. The principal facade consists of four storeys covered in canopy windows. On the right-side of the first floor is a large arched doorway, surmounted by the royal coat-of-arms and a 1677 inscription, while the rear corps are uniformly lower. From the entrance is the access to a framed patio surmounted by archway framing the two upper floors, a large door that connects it to the rest of the buildings bodies, towards the east. The first of these buildings is a large space of three naves defined by high arcade. Along its continuity, the buildings have two storeys accessible from the central nave by a staircase. In the rear facade are a series of high windows that illuminate the pavement and patio involving the eastern and northern buildings. From here are accessways to ''Rua Infante D. Henrique'' across a ramp and tunnel, that opens to an archway surmounted by royal coat-of-arms. Alongside the door exists a stone with the shield of the Avis dynastic family. Archaeological excavations since 1995 identified a group of structures buried in the entirety of the property, allowing the reconstruction of the medieval organization of the customhouses and "House of Coin", with vestiges of an early Roman construction of grand dimensions, with polychromatic mosaics.


References


Notes


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Infante, Casa do Government buildings completed in the 14th century Casa Infante Museums in Porto Archaeological museums in Portugal 1677 establishments in Portugal National monuments in Porto District