Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;pt;Mon01;21;ar
Library Location
Escarigo; Guarda, Portugal
Notes
The Matriz des Carrego Church, located in a small village located on the border of Beira, close to the borders of Castilla-a-Velha (Old Castile), belongs to a wide group of distinctive buildings extending from the northern region of Beira Baixa to the highlands of Tras-os-Montes. The basic distinctive characteristics of these buildings show a stylistic delay compared to the architecture that was built in the more developed Portuguese areas, whether in the important cities and villages, or in the coastal area, where The central wing was isolated and had arches, while the front of the church was composed of a small, isolated chapel usually located at the end of the right side, whether the plan of the church was rectangular or square with corners. Lighting was weak inside, and came from narrow slits or from a circular skylight on the facade of the building, often surmounted by a high arrow. Outside the axial door there is another door that opens into the southern wing and takes the form of a nacelle, centered on a side altar dedicated to Saint Christophe. On the outside, the door forms buttresses without projection that do not reach the top of the wall. The roof is built of wood, while the main chapel is equipped with a Mudejar style ceiling, made up of gilded and multi-coloured “stars and roses”. The Matrix d’Escarigo is considered the church in which the best preserved Mudejar ceilings above the main chapel date back to the sixteenth century, although we cannot confirm that they were made during the 1920s or The thirties of that century. The form of architecture, which is not historically compatible with the era, also characterizes the churches of Leomil, Castelo Bom, Villar Formoso, Castello Mindo, Marmillero, Villa do Toro and Sortelha. The latter is located in a lower place and has an ancient, distorted structure, although it still retains the remains of a Mudejar lattice roof. There are also many other churches belonging to the same style, although no trace of the roof remains. This church group, with its construction carried out with heavy blocks of well-prepared granite, and with its ceilings that have an Islamic influence (albeit indirectly), is closely linked to what was happening on the other side of the border in the lands of Castile and Leon. It is certain that the craftsmen who contributed to the construction came from those regions, which is clearly shown by the broad outer paragraphs of the arch in the outer gates. We must not forget that these small cities were closer to the cities of Zamora, Castelo Rodrigo and León than the large Portuguese cities, and therefore, the friction between them took place in many areas. This movement of craftsmen between these border areas and the presence of large construction workshops and campaigns, at the beginning of the 16th century AD, before or after, has been confirmed by abundant historical documents in recent years.
Sample Text
Pedro Dias “Matriz Church” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;pt;Mon01;21;ar
