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Carlos Amarante

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Carlos Amarante

Carlos Luís Ferreira da Cruz Amarante (Braga, 1748 - Oporto, 1815) was an important Portuguese engineer and architect.[1]

Amarante's father was musician in the court of the Bishop of Braga. He began pursuing an ecclesiastical career, but left the seminary when he was 23 years old to marry Luísa Clara Xavier. After that he pursued a career in engineering and architecture.

Artistically, Amarante led the transition between the late Baroque-Rococo architecture of northern Portugal to modern Neoclassical architecture. He was particularly influenced by the many Neoclassical buildings of English inspiration that were built in Oporto during the 18th century. The church of the sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte, built after 1784 to a design by Amarante, is considered one of the first Portuguese churches in Neoclassical style.

He was the designer of the 1806 Ponte das Barcas, a pontoon bridge forming the first permanent crossing between Porto and Gaia, which was the site of the Porto Boat Bridge disaster when the bridge partially collapsed as thousands of Porto residents fled invading French troops.[2]

Amarante is buried in the Trindade Church in Oporto.


Works

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References

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  1. ^ Porto, Universidade do (2016-06-23). "Carlos Luís Ferreira de Amarante". U.Porto (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  2. ^ Gama, António Santos (2022-03-29). "Tragédia da Ponte das Barcas 29 de março de 1809". Medium. Retrieved 2024-10-12.