Criar e recriar o desaparecido : o Sítio e a Igreja Românica de Santa Justa de Coimbra na cidade de hoje

Abstract

The city is a living organism whose morphologyundergoes constant transformations according to theneeds of its residents. History and History of Art only canrecreate what has changed; read the strata of palimpsest;and restore the urban memory of the original matrix ofbuildings, squares, neighbourhoods, streets and layoutsthat give life to the cities of today.References to the Romanesque Church of SantaJusta of Coimbra, which developed its work in the Northernoutskirts of the city until 1710, date back to 1155. Removedfrom the city walls and located in the sandy lands of theriver banks, the building withstood seasonal flooding andthe impact of silting and river bank heightening. From thechurch only part of the structure (nowadays a secular anddegraded building) and the churchyard (known as Terreiroda Erva) remains.This urban complex is currently part of a muchhigher surface and archaeological excavations have beenmostly unsuccessful due to high water table levels. Only acomprehensive articulation of information from writtensources will allow us to interpret the history of this urbanspace, whose reading is rendered so hard.The present study will propose a structure for theRomanesque church and respective yard, as well as for thephysical transformations the space experienced until the16th century. This outline will result from the analysis ofinformation obtained from medieval documents concerningthis space. With this in mind, a series of documents willbe examined, including references to tombs, altars andchantries, as well as records of episcopal visitations andchurch regulations.Based on methodological assumptions set forth bythe work A Cripto-História da Arte (2001), we believe wecan describe this lost Romanesque structure. Finally, thisoutline, sustained on our knowledge of this medieval parishand its urban dynamics, will allows us to propose a readingfor the space that is the city of our days.