Engraving Coimbra: Depiction of the City in Books and Magazines

The image of Coimbra was the source for multiple depictions, drawn by the most distinguished European artists, who over the centuries traveled around the country displaying Portuguese cities and landscapes in their drawings.

This exhibition aims to show a set of engravings in printed documents. Produced between the 16th and 19th centuries, they bear witness to urban evolution and the transformation of its architecture.

The first printed depictions of Coimbra appear in the 16th century, the best known of which is the panoramic view included in Civitates Orbis Terrarum, by Braun and Hogenberg, the most complete collection from the Renaissance, published between 1572 and 1618. This engraving includes a caption and, on the back, a detailed description of the city, in both Latin and French.

This engraving served as the template for many others that were published later, such as the one included in Martin Zeiller's Hispaniae et Lusitaniae Itinerarium, from 1656, or in the Thesaurus Philo-politicuser, published in Frankfurt, in 1627 (Conimbria in Portugal) , or even in James Murphy's A general view of the state of Portugal, published in London in 1798, among others on display.

In addition to panoramic views of the city, we can see engravings of monuments and city sites that were also the subject of illustrations in books and magazines, such as religious buildings: the Church of Santa Cruz, the Sé Velha and the Sé Nova, the Convents of Santa Clara-a-Velha and Santa Clara-a-Nova.

The university space, namely through the Paço das Escolas buildings, was often depicted in engravings of Coimbra. The engravings presented in this context are mostly included in the Yearbook of the University of Coimbra, published between the years 1871 and 1880. Various panoramic views of these buildings are shown in this section: the Via Latina, the Biblioteca Joanina (exterior and interior), and the Astronomical Observatory, which stood at the end of the University Courtyard and was demolished in the 1950s.

The final section of the exhibition includes a set of musical works, serenades and ballads from Coimbra, whose covers are decorated with motifs alluding to the city, in which the University and the Student are frequently depicted.

Exhibition | Joanina Library | Middle Floor