The Portuguese Pavements in Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro, Macau are Beautiful Examples of Repeated Design

Rossio Square. Lisbon, Portugal.

Copacabana Promenade. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Senado Square. Macau.

Portuguese Pavements (Calcada Portuguesa) date back to 3000 BC and the stone mosaic pavements are seen throughout Portugal and its former colonies. In around 1498 the king of Portugal, Don Emmanuel I, paved the garden of Castelo de Sao Jorge with white limestone pebbles and black balsatt stones in a zigzag pattern. Some of the most famous examples of Portuguese Pavements Rossio Square in Lisbon, Copacabana Promenade in Rio de Janeiro and Senado Square in Macau.

Rossio Square sits in the heart of the Portuguese capital and is a vibrant gathering spot for residents and tourists to enjoy a drink or watch the rapidly changing light. The square has played an important role in Lisbon’s history dating back to medieval times. The open area makes an ideal spot for marketplaces, fairs, military parades, political rallies, bullfighting and “autos de fe” (public inquisition). Municipal buildings surround the square with a baroque fountain on each end and a 27-meter high statue of Don Pedro IV in the center. The pavement is adorned with tiles in a mosaic wave pattern called “Mar Lago” (wide sea).  

Macau’s Senado Square has been its urban center for centuries. It was named after Leal Senado and served as a meeting place for the Chinese and Portuguese during the 16-18thcenturies. Through history it’s been host to many large events including: festivals, flea markets, performances, firework displays and lion and dragon dances on Chinese New Year and Christmas. Senado Square is a popular tourist destination and is surrounded by numerous shops and restaurants. The elongated, triangular shaped square connects Largo do Sao Domingos on one end and Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro on the other. In 1940 a small garden was built in the center with a bronze statue of Vincente Nicolau de Mesquita. The statue stood until the 1-2-3 Riot on 3 December 1966. The riots were a political demonstration against Portuguese rule. The statue was removed due to Mesquite’s responsibility for the death of many Qing Chinese soldiers; a fountain replaced the statue. The colonial facades of pastel neoclassical buildings surround the square. In the early 1990’s the square was made a pedestrian zone and covered in Portuguese Pavement in a wave pattern similar to Rossio Square in Lisbon. Senado Square is part of the UNESCO Historic Centre of Macau’s World Heritage site.

Rio de Janeiro’s famous Copacabana Promenade on Avenida Atlantica is a third example of Calcada Portuguesa in a wave pattern. In 1906 the area was undergoing urbanism and Mayor Francisco Pereira Passos brought in Calceteiro (pavers skilled in the Calcada Portuguesa technique) and materials (white limestone and black basalt stone) from Portugal in order to pave the Copacabana Boardwalk to resemble Rossio Square in Lisbon. The design element has since been a part of city’s international identity. Therefore, in the early 1970s Brazilian modern artist and landscape architect, Roberto Burle Marx, was commissioned to upgrade the area while enlarging and renovating the existing pavements. This was part of a massive state engineering project to widen Copacabana and Leme Beaches, install new drainage and sewage, enlarge the sidewalks and separate the roadway with a median. In addition to updating this urban symbol, Burle Marx designed new pavements to complement the Calcada Portuguesa in an abstract tribute to traditional Brazilian folk art in black, white and red stones.

In 2021 the city of Lisbon achieved“recognized’ status in its bid to make Calcada Portuguesa a candidate for Intangible Cultural Heritage and Humanity by UNESCO. The report states this achievement “constitutes the recognition of the importance of professionals who construct and maintain the ground we walk on, which is so much more than a pavement. It is a factor of identity, affection and national historical artistic and cultural differentiation. An art that carries the artistic sensibility of a people who themselves contributed a great deal in marking the footprint of the Portuguese in the world.”