Chafariz Velho de Paço de Arcos

This fountain is beautiful!

The story of Portugal told in fabulous tile panels ...

Gorgeous historic fountain, just needs a care, cleaning and reactivates it. One of the nicest places of Oeiras

The Old Fountain of Paço de Arcos ... date of 1775, a work of the time of the Marquis of Pombal. It is decorated with panels of tiles of the factory of Santana, which depict the Portuguese discoveries. On one side the departing ships, the raising of the standard in the lands of arrival, on the other the ships that arrive and the Infante D. Henrique, "The Browser". It is a beautiful work, which was certainly of great importance in his time, because in Paço de Arcos, in its beautiful palaces, staying overnight on the way to Cascais and Sintra. A beautiful monument, that deserves to be appreciated with time and that is in need of conservation works.

Old fountain in Paço de Arcos, this chafafiz appears in the middle of nowhere, between Paço de Arcos and Oeiras. But don't be intimidated by this, get on your way, it will be worth it. The tendency for those who pass by the marginal is to look at the Tagus, which goes, serenely, to the sea. However, this tendency can cause beautiful architectural examples of yesteryear to pass unnoticed in the current on the opposite side of Rio. An example of this is the Old Fountain of Paço de Arcos. It is necessary to pay close attention to, after the curve of the pines, we notice a large Fountain covered in Azulejos in a tone of Blue that seems leaning and shy looking at the frenzy of the cars on the waterfront. The grandeur of this fountain is also due to the tile panel that surrounds it. However, even more remote in time, it is the origin of the fountain itself, which dates from the year 1775, that is, after the earthquake. This large example is the work of the last years of Pombal, but when we see the date it was built, we can see that the fountains appeared late in the lives of the inhabitants, that is, in the middle of the 18th century. How would it be before? Something dismal, scarce drinking water, unclean puddles, for now it is best to return to the beauty of this work. If we sit on its eaves, looking at the river, we realize that the construction of the waterfront in the 40s of the 20th century came to cut the connections between the fountain and the land, seeming to be hanging there half forgotten. Theories about the authorship of the project are aimed not only at Architect Mardel dos Santos. Which of the two is unknown but at least the author's good taste is worth it. Rio seems to have another meaning when we sat there on the white stone

The Chafariz Velho de Paço d'Arcos was built in 1775. In the 1950s, it was covered with tiles, on each side of the fountain, designed by Rogério Amaral and executed at the Fabrica de Sant'Ana. It is a beautiful work, which is worth admiring up close.