Reabilitação e conservação de centros urbanos. O caso da ilha de Moçambique

Abstract

Travel is perhaps the best way to learn architecture. This dissertation results, therefore, from an experience lived during a visit to the island of Mozambique. Side by side with theories, arguments and ideas for architecture, experienced episodes are narrated in a small travel notebook, for a better understanding of the reality that is lived in the place. The Island of Mozambique is a testimony of many legends and stories that have been interconnected and today are part of world heritage. Although left abandoned for many years, efforts have been developed in recent decades towards the rehabilitation and maintenance of the ruins of the colonial city. However, the traditional city, mostly built of Macuti (and for that same reason named City of Macuti), has been forgotten and runs serious risk of losing its historic urban landscape identity and becoming a simple informal neighborhood, equal to any other. In this context, the work studies the present conditions of the City of Macuti, intending to reach some useful recommendations for a probable conservation of the traditional architecture and consequent maintenance of the urban image of an island inhabited by both men and spirits.