Trending now
PLACES & SPACES | ROOMS & GARDENS | WORLD OF CABANA
In a rather extraordinary juxtaposition in the seafaring town of Ílhavo, Portugal, an unprepossessing hardware store took up residence in a once-grand and extravagantly painted 18th-century building. The ordinariness of this small business likely preserved the architectural grandeur of the property, but there are no guarantees for its future. The building's history, and multiple identities, has long fascinated architect Alexandre Gamelas; he shares its story.
BY ALEXANDRE GAMELAS | ROOMS & GARDENS | 23 JUNE 2025
Ílhavo has been around for about 1000 years as a seafaring town. As hard as ocean life was, it meant that typically its people were relatively well-off compared to the rural countryside. To that effect it has signs of wealth dating back centuries, including a few aristocratic manor houses. In this context one such house was reportedly built in the 18th century, the remnants of which still stand right in the middle of town, making a corner.
It’s a nicely proportioned two-storied pile with tall and regular windows and a somewhat pompous tympanum on one side. Then, in the early 19th century, one event would change the town - the implantation of Vista Alegre, the first porcelain manufacturer in the country organized on an industrial scale.
Its owners brought techniques and artisans from abroad with the vision of a large, successful endeavor (it still exists today). This also created a system of masters and apprentices, which extended outside the confines of the factory campus. By 1876 our palacete had been sold and turned into the Teatro Recreio Artístico, a theatre, the main distraction of the day. The interior must have been almost completely gutted, as it stands in the guise of a triple-height room with two galleries and a proscenium.
Its founders were actors and artists themselves. In fact, two of them had learned painting from one of the French masters of Vista Alegre and decorated the theater themselves - with swags, garlands, inscriptions bearing the names of great Portuguese authors and even a grisaille composition with muses and trophies. There are also multiple painted decorations with later dates. The most interesting is in the ceiling, a rectangle bearing the date 1-1-922 and a monogram in calligraphy.
It refers to January 1, 1922, the day the building suffered its third and last great change of use - it was turned into what was then called a drogaria. It must have been a swanky place, judging by the signs - a place to buy everything on three floors amid a spectacular setting.
Fast forward 100 years and the concept of “everything” has multiplied exponentially and the one of “retail” changed dramatically. It is now a mundane hardware store, bought 30 years ago by a couple who made it their life business. There is nothing distinguishable about the goods they sell, and everything is accumulated with no regards to the history of the space, but otherwise they have kept it exactly as it was.
That this time capsule still stands is a miracle in our days of voracious historical demolition, especially in a poor town in a poor country eager to make a quick buck.
For now, we can enjoy the building while it lasts intact (it is reportedly being put up for sale) and revel in the contrast between the naive aspirational decor and the cheap plastic items on display. It remains a fascinating interior which couldn’t exist elsewhere, and a tribute to the artisanship of the town.
the edit
Latest Articles
