Portuguese pavement

The calçada portuguesa (German: " Portuguese sidewalk " ) is a characteristic Portuguese Wegpflasterung, usually made of white limestone and black basalt. In Brazil it is called " Pedra Portuguesa " ( " Portuguese stone "), but in many countries as " Mosaico Português " ( " Portuguese mosaic " ) known.

The origins of the paving technique lie in Persia, where it came from Mesopotamia, ancient Greece and the Roman Empire to the Iberian Peninsula.

The first official, regular dose of the patch technology has placed in 1500 King Manuel, " the lucky one ", in the area of ​​today's UNESCO monuments of world cultural heritage, the Torre de Belem and the Jeronimos Monastery. After the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 already elaborate mosaic patches were then applied in the reconstruction of Lisbon

However, at the present form was found in Portugal until the 19th century. At the latest with the paving work on the Castelo de São Jorge 1842 was found today known form of paving.

Meanwhile, the calçada portuguesa one of the typical Portuguese recognition characters, and particularly in the tourist city of Lisbon marketing, together with symbols such as the Portuguese guitar, the Lisbon tram or the Portuguese tile art, a frequently used motif.

In 1986, the city of Lisbon, a school specifically for pavement art, the Escola dos Calceteiros. 2006, a monument to the Portuguese paver ( calceteiro ) was in front of the church of São Nicolau in the Lisbon lower town built as an homage for the physically challenging activity.

Dissemination

The calçada Portuguesa is widespread in Portugal, both on the mainland and in Madeira and the Azores, and in both modern designs, as well as in traditional patterns. International most widespread the wave motif of the " wide sea" is ( mar largo ), about the famous beach promenade of Copacabana (Rio de Janeiro).

It can be found wherever there was a Portuguese presence in the story, such as in Goa, India, Macau, the Chinese or East Timor. Even in the former Portuguese colonies in Africa, they are still quite commonly found, such as in Angola, Cape Verde and Mozambique. But even in Hawaii or at the John Lennon Memorial in New York's Central Park, you can see them.