António Ponte
Regional Director for Northern Culture
In Portugal the expansion of Romanesque architecture coincides with the reign of D. Afonso Henriques, when the works on the Cathedrals of Lisbon, Coimbra and Oporto began and the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra was finished. The architecture was mainly religious, so the Romanesque is closely related to the parish organization, and the many monasteries and convents founded or rebuilt in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Note that in Portugal the Romanesque era is the contemporary period in which its habitat was structured, with the parishes and every religious organizations. It is not because of the "Reconquista", the expansion of Romanesque corresponds, essentially, to the organization of the territory. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries new parishes appear, especially in Entre-Douro and Minho, they are bounded by the peaks of the elevations that surround them, by old roads and the most important waterways. The rural communities are organized around a church, with a space dedicated to the cemetery. The church is the sacred centre around the parish area. Symbolically it is a citadel against evil because it keeps the saints and their relics, triumphant and glorious. There are also held there the ceremonies that ensure the protection of God and the saints. C. A. Ferreira de Almeida said, the Portuguese Romanesque architecture, should be considered in situ. It is only truly understandable and rich in teachings when seen together with the landscape and local habitat.
The Romanesque architecture is at the forefront of monuments whose restoration followed the criteria of restoration material in Portugal, as detailed in the thesis National Monuments; technical guidance to follow in its restoration (1935), guidance that was to subtract the monuments to the attacks committed during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The Romanesque architecture, read in the light of the cultural heritage category, is one of the most significant force for XXI century Europe - the cultural heritage it is an essential capital of Europe. If so, the paradigm of cultural activities as "cost" to society is changing. The added value of cultural heritage for economy has been, most commonly, seen in terms of tourism, but also as a force for innovation and stimulus for growth and employment in a wide range of industries, traditional as well the more modern. In the same way, cultural heritage is recognized as a social cohesion factor, development of the "sense of community" and involvement with the environment. However, this vision – positive and stimulating – on cultural heritage, not yet reap the extent of the necessary consensus for, through the innovative use of cultural heritage, in order to progress to the goals of economic growth, social cohesion and environmental sustainability.
In this specific context, the work of the Romanesque Route takes on an exemplary character while achieving vehicle of 3 the 3 Cultural Heritage Rs – regenerate, renew and reborn.