Casas de Fresco do Concelho de Évora: Quatro casos de estudo

Abstract

The casas de fresco [summer houses, coolhouses] reappear in Portuguese territory, at a time when concerns about comfort and recreation, in the domestic sphere, are being renewed. As we approach the 16th century, exterior areas such as gardens, vegetable gardens or orchards (which have long been a part of villas and palaces), start being planned as spaces of leisure and thus carefully designed. It's in an atmosphere of communion with nature that we find the casas de fresco, indicating a willingness to expand the habitable space for the outdoor, always geared toward the promotion of pleasurable moments of leisure. These architectures are generally small, providing spaces of shelter and refreshment, which allow moments of contemplation and reflection, in direct contact with nature.In the first part of this work we tried to frame the reappearance, establish a definition and enumerate some characteristics of these devices in Portuguese territory. In the second part, we analyze four case studies, located in the county of Évora and built in the 16th century: A Fonte do Pomar do Divor, Casa da Água da Quinta de Valverde, Fonte do Arcediago and Casa de Fresco do Paço de S. Miguel.