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Portuguese pavement: image of the seal of the University of Coimbra Portugal (Coimbra) featuring Wisdom.

Portuguese pavement (European Portuguese: [kɐɫˈsaðɐ puɾtuˈɣezɐ], Brazilian Portuguese: [kawˈsadɐ poʁtuˈgezɐ], calçada portuguesa), is a traditional style pavement used for many pedestrian areas in Portugal, while it can also be found in Olivença (a disputed territory administered by Spain) and throughout old Portuguese colonies such as Brazil and Macau. Portuguese workers are also hired for this skill to create these pavements in places such as Gibraltar. Being usually used in sidewalks, it is in plazas and atriums this art finds its deepest expression.

One of the most distinctive uses of this paving technique is the image of the Saint Queen Elizabeth of Portugal, in Coimbra, designed with black and white stones of basalt and limestone.

Origins [edit]

Paving as a craft is believed to have originated in Mesopotamia, where rocky materials were used in the inside and outside of constructions, being later brought to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

The Romans used to pave the vias connecting the empire using materials to be found in the surroundings. Some of the techniques introduced then are still applied on the calçada, most noticeably the use of a foundation and a surfacing.

Setting the stones [edit]

Upon a well compacted trench of argillaceous materials, craftsmen lay a bedding of gravel, which will accommodate the tessera stones, acting as a cement.

Stages of paving

1. Preparation of stones  2. Careful, manual placement of each stone  3. Finishing by spreading cement mix on the pavement  4. Final effect

An unsure future [edit]

Portuguese pavement in Paulista Avenue, São Paulo. This pavement is currently being challenged for a more common one, under the Avenue reform.

Very few workers (calceteiros) will admit to enjoying this arduous labour, where long hours are spent painstakingly laying the stones in a prostrated position. Low wages fail to attract apprentices.

Paved sidewalks also present hazards to pedestrians and unpleasant barriers to people with physical impairments. These pavements can be particularly treacherous when they are wet, presenting a glassy, low grip surface that can contribute to slips and falls. Moreover, the surface is prone to breaking up, and in doing so, presents dangerous trip hazards.

This method of paving has a high cost and reduced longevity in comparison with concrete-based or bituminous alternatives. They are, however, relatively easy to excavate (in order to access buried services) and reinstatement is almost invisible – not something that can be said for homogenous surfaces that are left with unsightly patches as witness marks to previous interventions.

Once an activity performed by hundreds of craftsmen in Portuguese cities and villages, traditional paving is increasingly becoming restricted to conservation works or important architectural projects. Less abundant materials, dwindling numbers of craftsmen and criticism to its widespread use are forcing municipalities to consider other alternatives.

While São Paulo is currently reforming the sidewalks of its Paulista Avenue, one of the places in the city that has Portuguese pavement, and exchanging it for a more cheap and common type of pavement, in other Brazilians cities such as Rio de Janeiro it remains popular, nearly ubiquitous in the wealthier areas.

Calçada as a form of art [edit]

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  Stars at your feet at Lisbon

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  Portuguese pavement in Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro

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  Póvoa de Varzim's runes in Praça do Almada

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  The Senado Square's distinctive tiled pattern in Macau, China

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  The Copacabana beach sidewalk pavement in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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  The Ipanema beach sidewalk pavement in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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  A sidewalk next to Paulista Avenue, a whole neighbourhood that used to have its sidewalks entirely paved by Portuguese pavement, in São Paulo, Brazil

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  Portuguese pavement near Pavilhão Atlântico at Parque das Nações, Lisbon, Portugal

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  Detail of paving work near Praça de Camões, Lisbon, Portugal

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  Portuguese pavement in Generoso Marques Square, Curitiba, Brazil

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  Lisbon Coat-of-Arms, the capital of Portugal

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  Transistor symbol drawn in University of Aveiro

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  Plaza de España, Olivença

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  Pavement on the Rossio Square (Praça do Rossio), Lisbon

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  Pavement in Ocean Village Gibraltar

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Portuguese pavement

• Paving in Portuguese, urbanphoto.net
• Portuguese pavement and its histories (Portuguese language)
• The Portuguese Pavements Handbook (10 MB), Direccção Nacional de Energia e Geologia (Portuguese/English)

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