Rocha Peixoto Municipal Library

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Rocha Peixoto Library in Rua Padre Afonso Soares. Biblioteca Municipal Povoa Varzim.JPG
Rocha Peixoto Library in Rua Padre Afonso Soares.

The Rocha Peixoto Municipal Library (Portuguese: Biblioteca Municipal Rocha Peixoto) is a public library system serving the city of Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. Its main library is located in Póvoa de Varzim school district, at Rua Padre Afonso Soares.

Póvoa de Varzim Municipality in Norte, Portugal

Póvoa de Varzim, also spelled Povoa de Varzim, is a Portuguese city in Northern Portugal and sub-region of Greater Porto. It sits in a sandy coastal plain, a cuspate foreland, halfway between the Minho and Douro rivers. In 2001, there were 63,470 inhabitants, with 42,396 living in the city proper. The city expanded, southwards, to Vila do Conde, and there are about 100,000 inhabitants in the urban area alone. It is the seventh-largest urban agglomeration in Portugal and the third largest in Northern Portugal.

Portugal Republic in Southwestern Europe

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country located mostly on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost sovereign state of mainland Europe. It is bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain. Its territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments.

Contents

The first public library of Póvoa de Varzim officially opened in 1880, under the name Biblioteca Popular Camões, celebrating the three-hundredth anniversary of the death of Luís de Camões. Since then, it has moved several times. The main library has multiple sections such as children's library, multimedia, literature, scientific and Fundo Local, a section with studies about Póvoa de Varzim.

Luís de Camões Portuguese poet

Luís Vaz de Camões is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespeare, Vondel, Homer, Virgil and Dante. He wrote a considerable amount of lyrical poetry and drama but is best remembered for his epic work Os Lusíadas. His collection of poetry The Parnasum of Luís de Camões was lost in his lifetime. The influence of his masterpiece Os Lusíadas is so profound that Portuguese is sometimes called the "language of Camões".

Branches

The Rocha Peixoto Library has several branches. All of these branches were created in early 21st century with a new decentralization policy. It includes seven branches in civil parishes, two beach libraries, one garden library and seven school libraries. [1]

Architecture

The 1921 Orfeon Povoense Facade Fachada antiga biblioteca Municipal Povoa Varzim.JPG
The 1921 Orfeon Povoense Façade
The constructed section was just the eastern base of the facade Orfeao.jpg
The constructed section was just the eastern base of the façade

The main library was built between 1985 and 1991 and is a contemporary architecture project by architect Silva Garcia. It won a national architecture prize in 1989. However, the main façade is an older construction from the project for the Orfeon Povoense Choral society headquarters. This façade was just part of a larger project by architect Francisco de Oliveira Ferreira, first shown during a public presentation in 1915 and the dream of Josué Trocado, that included the Motherly School (Escola Maternal), for the unfavored children of the municipality. [2]

Dr. Josué Francisco Trocado, KCSG was a Portuguese composer.

The project was too grand, especially for a leisure association, but Josué Trocado kept with the ambition and in November 20, 1921 works started in the façade, but it was noticeable then that the financial conditions were not met, and the façade remained unfinished. The unfinished façade, remained for a long time in the construction site, until it was transferred a couple of streets north to become the Old Façade of Rocha Peixoto Municipal Library. [2]

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Santa Clara Aqueduct

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Coração de Jesus Basilica

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Port of Póvoa de Varzim

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Architecture of Póvoa de Varzim

The architecture of Póvoa de Varzim, in Portugal, demonstrates a broad variety of architectural styles over its thousand years of history. 11th-century Romanesque, 16th-century Mannerism, 18th-century Baroque, late 18th-century neoclassicism, early 20th-century Portuguese modernism and late 20th- to early 21st-century contemporary architectural styles and more are all represented in Póvoa de Varzim. As a whole it represents a rich eclectic tradition and innovation shaped by the people, their beliefs and economy.

References

  1. ↑ "Rede Concelhia de Leitura Pública" (in Portuguese). CMPV. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  2. 1 2 [Auto de Colocação da 1ª Pedra (de 20 de Novembro de 1921] - Arquivo Municipal da Póvoa de Varzim

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