Beautiful Aveiro

Just down the coast from Porto is the lovely city of Aveiro, sometimes called the Venice of Portugal due to its network of canals that cross the city and the "gondolas" that traverse them.

It is also famous for its Art Nouveau buildings which, unlike many other European cities, were not torn down once they went out of fashion. Back in fashion once again, they are part of a whole Art Nouveau trail which starts at the beautiful Aveiro Art Nouveau Museum, located right on the canal.

Portuguese Art Nouveau is a style of its own, quite distinct from the Belgian or French. It features, of course, lots of gorgeous tile. Said tile is in full display at the entry to the museum.

The choice of design is pretty apt since seagulls are everywhere in the city.

The museum is housed in what was once the home of Mario Belmonte Pessoa. It was designed by Francisco Silva Rocha in collaboration with Ernesto Korrodi. One of the tour guides in the city said that the Art Nouveau buildings were built as a way for the rich to outdo each other. Though that may have turned out to be the case, the reason that Art Nouveau style buildings were built has more to do with the economic resurgence of the city after a long period of decline. Many Brazilians returning to Portugal favored the style and wealthy merchants wanting to make a statement with their residences jumped on the bandwagon. Serpentine lines and the influence of nature in the wrought iron and decorative stonework were typical of Art Nouveau buildings. What sets Portuguese Art Nouveau apart is its extensive use of tile. This tile can be seen throughout the museum.

Tiles from the Pansies Room:

Leaving the pansies room, the ground floor empties onto the back courtyard with gorgeous wrought iron gates.

Even the courtyard is tiled. Though some of the tile was removed for improvements that were made to the infrastructure, the names of two of Pessoa's daughters are preserved.

View of the back of the house from the courtyard:

Sensual serpentine iron work abounds.

On the second floor there's a room with a wonderful film that tells the story of the development of Art Nouveau in Aveiro and down the hall are examples of ceramics in the Art Nouveau style.

There was a display of bisqueware, that is, unfired ceramics. I could hardly believe that they left it on display unprotected and that no careless handling had damaged the delicate pieces.

The wrought iron work was particularly impressive.

There was a special exhibition on the top floor of the museum about how color played a central role in Art Nouveau style.

Of particular importance was the development of a synthetic indigo pigment derived from the process of converting coal to gas. Depth of color was essential to the Art Nouveau movement and subsequently to the Arts and Crafts movement.

It was an incredible feast for the eyes.

The museum guide included a map of other Art Nouveau buildings in Aveiro so I spent most of the afternoon walking around the city hunting them down.

Casa do Rossio:

Obelisco da Liberdade:

Antiga Cooperativa Agricola:

Museu da Cidade:

Casa dos Ovos Moles:

Residencia Florentino Vicente Ferreira:

Residencia do Dr. Peixinho:

I particularly liked the iron work, which reminded me of two octopuses.

You have to be careful walking up some the side streets because the cobblestones are not all in good order.

Some of the stone work, however, is remarkable.

Edificio Testa & Amadores:

Sabateria Man. F. da Rocha Leitão:

Antiga Garagem:

What's amazing about the building above is that it's not a building at all, but just the facade of a building that's been attached to a new construction.

Coreto do Jardim Municipal:

The bandstand is in the Aveiro City Park, which turned out to be a lovely diversion.

There were a number of buildings that I didn't manage to find, but a second diversion brought me to an unlikely spot, the Municipalidade cemetery which houses the Ultima Alento statue:

It's is quite a place, right in the heart of the city and containing tombs both old and new.

One last diversion took me not to an Art Nouveau building but to the Aveiro Salt Ponds.

Salt production had been a huge industry in Aveiro, but the invention of refrigeration caused the decline of the industry because salt was no longer needed to preserve the fish caught in the area. In the summer there are marnotos or salt masters, who still harvest salt the traditional way, but only for the benefit of the tourists. In the off season, it's a place for the white flamingos to fish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP_XT6JhsE0

At one of the shops in town I struck up a conversation with a young woman who told me that Aveiro is a lovely place to live. It's pretty, it's not full of rude people like Lisbon, and it's not overcrowded like Porto. I can't comment on the rudeness of people from Lisbon, but I have to concur that Aveiro is lovely.