Azulejaria portuguesa na arquitetura civil de São Luís: dos sítios ao Caminho Grande e à cidade moderna

Abstract

This finale course work conducted an exploratory study in the areas that lie on the outskirts of the historic city center of São Luís, where the Portuguese tiles from the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth century’s still present. His goal was to analyze the influence of Portuguese tiles in decoration of facades and interiors of homes, types of decoration, their location on the facades and architectural styles of these houses. It was conducted a field research from the nineteenth century historic sites located on the right bank of the Bacanga river, passing through areas surrounding the overturning state and finally, following the "Caminho Grande" and neighborhoods that have sprung up over it as well as the neighborhoods upper middle class a little more distant, like Renascença at north and Olho D'Água at south. The results showed a large number of decorations on facades, tiled nineteenth century stampeds. The tiles of the eighteenth century are located in the interiors of homes with high purchasing power as a result of collections or demolition of old homes or churches in the city center. In this globalization process and trivialization of culture, understanding the role of the tile in Brazilian architecture can assist in the preservation of this national heritage avoiding that this memory may be diluted.