THE MANUELINE STYLE, A VERY
SPECIFIC INTERPRETATION OF THE
GOTHIC IN TERMS OF ARCHITECTURAL
STRUCTURE AND DECORATION
The Age of Discoveries brought great wealth and knowledge to Portugal. At
that time, the Portuguese explorers unveiled far-off civilizations to the world
and many foreign artists came to work in Portugal. This meeting of cultures
gave birth to the Manueline style, a very specific interpretation of the Gothic
in terms of architectural structure and decoration. It is possible to identify a
set of ornaments and a combination of symbols that are only found in
Portugal. The style emerged during the reign of King Manuel I (1495-1521)
but the name to describe this creative spirit was not adopted until the 19th
century.