The Architectural Heritage of Lisbon in Danger

NTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON MONUMENTS AND SITES

ICOMOSNetherland  
EUROPA NOSTRA


Joint invitation

Date: Wednesday 16 May 2012
Dinner: 18.30-19.30 hours
Lecture: 19.30-21.00 hours
Drinks: 21.00-21.30 hours
Venue: Museum Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis, Herengracht 518basement in Amsterdam* 
Topic: The Architectural Heritage of Lisbon in Danger
Speaker: António Sérgio Rosa de Carvalho 

As Lisbon hosts the 2012 Europa Nostra’s European Heritage Congress (30 May – 2 June) including a Forum entitled “Saving Europe’s Endangered Heritage,”**  ICOMOS Netherland and Europa Nostra are organising jointly a lecture by a renowned Portuguese architectural historian and publicist António Sérgio Rosa de Carvalho who will present the fragile situation of the architectural heritage in this historical city.

Abstract of the lecture
Architectural heritage in Lisbon is seriously threatened. According to Rosa de Carvalho, in historical areas of Lisbon, such as the 18th century Baixa Pombalina or 19th century boulevards, a false and hybrid concept of urban rehabilitation is taking place and will be sustained in the near future by ambiguous legislation. As a consequence buildings and interiors are completely demolished, façades maintained but complemented with strange extensions or contrasting magnifications, building typologies altered and synthetic materials applied. Following the closure of two national public heritage institutes, it remains unclear whether the new institute will prove competent and effective enough to ensure the adequate safeguard of Portuguese rich heritage.

Although Portugal has already successfully implemented several restoration projects (Guimarães, Porto-Ribeira and some quarters of Lisbon) in accordance with international standards, Rosa de Carvalho is critical about the possibilities to create a true, solid and systematic conservation culture in Lisbon that is sustained and conducted by restoration architects, free from political influence and recognised by general consensus. In his lecture, Rosa de Carvalho will address the restoration policy in Lisbon vis-à-vis Portugal’s national heritage restoration policy.

Baixa Pombalina: an archetypal 18th century building in distress. (photo: António Sérgio Rosa de Carvalho, 2011)


António Sérgio Rosa de Carvalho (1953, Lisbon) is an architectural historian and publicist who lives in Portugal and in the Netherlands. He is strongly committed to the defence of heritage, specially in Lisbon, and for many years has been active as an opinion maker and author of challenging articles in Portugal’s leading national newspaper Público. Recently Rosa de Carvalho expanded his activities to new (social) media on internet. Rosa de Carvalho is an individual member both of ICOMOS and of Europa Nostra. He will be one of the panellists of the Europa Nostra Forum in Lisbon.

European Heritage Congress in Lisbon
For more information, go to www.europanostra.org/lisbon