Povoamento de Ocupação Sazonal em Castro Laboreiro - Brandas e Invernais

Abstract

The work here present focuses on the characterisation and differentiation of two types of se- asonal settlement which exist in Castro Laboreiro - the 'brandas', located on the edge of the plateau, inhabited nine months per year, from Easter to Christmas, and the 'inverneiras', on the valleys, inhabited for the three months left. The object of this study is an attempt to understand how the milieu, the culture and the traditional ways of production of the inhabitants of Castro Laboreiro reflect on these settlements both in their structure and in their buildings. In the first chapter, the parish of Castro Laboreiro is contextualized by giving its geographical location, orography and weather. This is also an attempt to distinguish its peculiar type of seasonal set- tlement from other forms of exploitation of settlements on the highest level of the mountain, which are patent in the neighbouring mountains of Peneda, Soajo, Amarela and Gerês. A historical perspective is also given in this chapter, emphasizing the various occupations which left their brand on the land and culture of this territory. The antiquity of the seasonal settlement organization of Castro Laboreiro and a clarifying explanation about the central role of the 'Vila' as concerns the parish, as a polarizing centre of functions and support of the other settlements is also referred so as to include the 'brandas' and the 'in- verneiras' in the net of territorial connections which link the different settlements of Castro Laboreiro. The settlements of Castro Laboreiro are broadly characterised in the second chapter. The diffe- rent resources of each one of the surrounding ecological realities of the 'brandas' and of the 'inverneiras' are compared and there is an interpretation of the way they reflect on the occupation of outside spaces in these two types of settlements. The third chapter referring to the house of Castro Laboreiro tries to be explicit on the me- aning that it has to the inhabitant of Castro Laboreiro and how he takes possession of the houses in the ' brandas' and in the 'inverneiras'. In this chapter are also introduced the basic unit of the 'casa castreja' from which all the houses come to develop by division of the interior space and addition of outbuildings; the traditional way of interior organization of the house, whose most important space is the kitchen; right before the house entrance the 'patio castrejo' which is used to facilitate household work when it comes to farming and cattle raising. In point five of this chapter, three types of houses and their variations are defined according to the way the various outbuildings belonging to the house and which support the farming and cattle raising activities interconnect and how that relationship is formally expressed in architectural volumes which integrate the settlement core of Castro Laboreiro. To achieve this, the houses measured and drawn in the 'branda' of Campelo and in the 'inverneira' of Pontes were taken as sample. Point six concerning the construction, technology and materials focuses on the diffe- rent elements of the building - walls, roof and pavements - and it encompasses the spirit of cooperation and mutual help of relatives and neighbours which followed the process of building and rebuilding. The gradual detachment of the inhabitants of Castro Laboreiro from the traditional ways of life and labouring of farming and cattle raising brought about by emigration generated changes in the form of houses. In point seven of the third chapter these changes are dealt with.They are generally associated with the aim of creating more comfortable spaces, based on foreign tastes and fashions as well as the fact that some 'brandas' and 'inverneiras', traditionally seasonal settlements are more and more abando- ned or became permanent place of residence of its inhabitants. In chapter four, the 'eiras', the mills, the 'fornos' and the watering systems, communal construc- tions which can be found in all the seasonal settlements are presented. Considering that the different settlements of Castro Laboreiro are the result of a process that goes back in time, based on countless individual and collective decisions, which in a wise and ingenious way tried to create spaces related to the surrounding natural environment, to answer the needs, aspira- tions and ways of life, in chapter five the 'branda' of Campelo and the 'inverneira' of Pontes were chosen as case studies to show how the characteristics inherent to each one of the two types of seasonal settlement are expressed in real life examples. At last, in the chapter of final reflections, a concluding synthesis of the deductions made as the work was developing to answer its principal objectives was worked out.