Casa do Santo I

The architecture, for the substantial means it requires, for the expression of power it represents, for being a creation of spaces and volumes that mark, profoundly, the social life and the places, for being so radically connected to our customs and our topical references and memories, for the extraordinary testament of human history and era that it always is” (ALMEIDA, 2001: 15) definitively marks the region.
Like the elaborate façades, the interior of the manor houses reflects the desire to live comfortably and show the status and capacity that allow one to go beyond the essential and the sphere of production. The characteristics of urban sociability are transferred to the Douro, within the more or less extended family, and to the guests it receives. The multiplicity of places of reception and leisure are a sign, with music houses appearing, as well as for games and libraries, a phenomenon that increases significantly in the 19th century.