ALHO, Patrícia, The gargoyles and the hydraulic system of the monastery of St. Dinis, in Odivelas, in Alexandra de Carvalho Antunes, Grigor Angjeliu and Mariagrazia Bellanova (Editors), Advances in Cultural Heritage Studies, Year 2020. Contributions of the European Students’ Association for Cultural Heritage, Mazu Press, Oeiras/Portugal, 2020, 179-184.
The gargoyles and the hydraulic system of the
The hydraulic system is indeed essential for the proper functioning of a building, comprising a vast set of elements that determine the build-ing’s overall architectural organization: roofs, gutters, gargoyles, water ducts inside buttresses and flying buttresses, underground piping and spouts, among others. The entire upper hydraulic system displays a high degree of complexity and forethought, because the channelling of rainwater away from the roof areas has always been one of the foremost concerns of architects when designing a building, as well as a main issue in the restoration of buildings throughout the years. Quoting: The availability of natural drinking water is indis-pensable to the subsistence of a community and conditions, there-fore, the criteria and specificities taken into account when choosing the location of a medieval Cistercian abbey (JORGE, 2006, p. 145).
The present research focuses in the hydraulic system of the Monastery of St. Dinis, in Odivelas, from the gathering, distribution and discharge of water to the inventory, description and iconographic analysis of the building’s gargoyles. We have chosen to focus on this monument following the recent launch of a historical and artistic research project, in collaboration with the Municipality of Odivelas and ARTIS – the Art History Institute of the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon, whose main lines of research include the analysis of the water circulation within this monastic ensemble.
Quoting: The medieval Cistercian habitat is part of a complete and harmonious architectural system, characterized by a unique organic cohesion and formal balance, and follows a specific programme. It was conceived as a response to the spatial and functional demands of rural, isolated monastic communities leading a self-sustaining sedentary life (JORGE, 2006, p. 125).
2. Monastery of Saint Dinis, in Odivelas. Historical and artistic context
The Monastery of Saint Dinis was founded by King Dinis in 1295 to house Cistercian nuns. The construction work began in the following year and by 1305 the building was already inhabited. Throughout the years, the monastery was repeatedly expanded (a fountain was added to the Moor’s Cloister, in 1573), but it also suffered the effects of the 1531, 1755 and 1758 earthquakes, which led to a profound transformation of the original design. Only the apse of the church and two wings of the cloister date back to the monastery’s foundation.
3. The lower hydraulic system of the Monastery of Saint Dinis, in Odivelas
In what regards the monastery’s lower hydraulic system, the valley’s main water lines have directly influenced the building’s design.
Moreover, this region is rich in water resources, partly due to the unique characteristics of the subsoil. These conditions, along with the building’s exact location and organization, carefully determined in light of the land’s topography, allow for the supply of potable and non-potable water (brought in from the Caneças water stream).
The drinking water brought to the monastery was channelled from two natural sources: one in Casal Ventoso and another in Ramada.
They converged in the water reservoir (mãe d’água) of Calçado.
From there, the water was led in underground pipes to the washing room in the original cloister. Quoting: The drinking water supply system began in two natural sources, located in Ramada and Casal Ventoso, respectively, and converging in the reservoir (mãe d’água) of Calçado. From there, the water was led in underground pipes and discharged in an artificial watercourse next to a dyke located 2300 km upstream, in Caneças (JORGE, 2006, p. 241).
This watercourse led the water along an aqueduct from Arroja to the monastery and ran under the latrines of the infirmary and the dormitory. The tributary streams were then led back to the Caneças stream.
The lower hydraulic subsystem is divided into four phases, namely:
-Gathering – The monastery was supplied with drinking water from two natural sources: one in Casal Ventoso and the other in Ramada. They converged in the water reservoir (mãe d’água) of Calçado.
-Supply – Drinking water was led in underground pipes, by the force of gravity, to the original cloister. The water used by the monastery’s wider community was supplied by the Caneças stream (non-potable water), via an artificial watercourse constructed for that end in the town of Ramada.
-Distribution – Due to the damage caused by the 1755 and 1758 earthquakes, as well as to various expansion works, there are no clear traces of the reservoirs or other original structures for the distribution of drinking water. However, as in other Cistercian monasteries, the water was distributed in a rational manner among the building’s humid areas. It was led in underground pipes to the washing room and directed afterwards to the kitchen and other relevant areas.
-Discharge – Non-potable water, brought in by an artificial watercourse, entered the monastery from the north and ran under the latrines of the infirmary and the dormitory. The tributary streams were discharged in the Caneças stream.
The nuns of the Monastery of Saint Dinis used to refer to the cloister as a set of “cloisters” and to the open space at the centre as the
“courtyard” (this space was initially used for planting the medicinal herbs utilized in the monastery’s pharmacy; only later it acquire a more elaborate shape). The washing room was originally located in the courtyard delimited by the four wings of the cloister, in front of the refectory. The current washing room, at the centre of the refectory, was built more recently, as revealed by its architectural features. The drinking water that reached the washing room’s fountain was directed to the kitchen’s washbasin, and from there to the water reservoir through a series of pipes, enabling the nuns to perform their ablu-tions. The kitchen is equipped with a marble washbasin, which received the water gathered in the cloister’s fountain.
The water to fulfil the needs of the monastic community had to be supplied in greater quantity, and was therefore non-potable. It was collected in the Caneças/Odivelas stream through a dyke built in Arroja and led by the force of gravity to the monastery, via an artificial watercourse. This non-potable water entered the monastery from the north, ran under the latrines of the infirmary and the dormitories and was discharged back into the Caneças stream, further to the west.
The organization of the monastery’s different spaces had to follow both the Order’s rigorous rules and the construction’s technical de-mands. Accordingly, the church was located in the lower part of the plot, on the south side, with the remaining areas located to the north.
Thus, the water piping system enters the monastery at the highest point, supplies the relevant areas of the building and goes on to join the Caneças stream, following the plot’s natural slope.
Currently, the monastery is supplied with piped drinking water from a reservoir in Casal Ventoso. The old natural sources are protected by a round limestone structure with a domed roof.
4. The upper hydraulic system of the Monastery of Saint
Dinis, in OdivelasAs for the upper hydraulic system, our fieldwork has revealed five different solutions:
I – The cloister features two different solutions: on one side, the water is sent from the roof to a sloping terrace, from which it is channelled to the iron spouts and finally to the outside (Fig. 1);
on the remaining sides, the water falling from the roof is directed to a second roof, and then to the outside.
II – The second cloister features only one solution: the water falling on the roof is directed to the sloping terraces, from where it is channelled to different stone spouts and led to the outside (Fig. 2).
III – On the church’s apse, the water falling on the roof is channelled to the stone spouts, led along the staggered buttresses and directed to the outside (Fig. 3).
IV – On the adjacent chapels, the water falling on the roof is directed to the roofs of the chapels, received by the stone spouts, led along a staggered buttress and finally sent to the outside (Fig. 4).
Fig. 1 – Cloister, Monastery of Saint Dinis, Odivelas, Solution I, ©Patrícia
Alho
Fig. 2 – Cloister, Monastery of Saint Dinis, Odivelas, Solution
II, ©Patrícia Alho
Fig. 3 – Apse, Monastery of Saint Dinis, Odivelas, Solution III,
©Patrícia Alho
Fig. 4 – Adjacent chapels, Monastery of Saint Dinis, Odivelas,
Solution IV, ©Patrícia Alho
V – In one last solution, the water falling on the roof is directed to the spouts and then to the outside.
Table 1 – Table with the different elements found in the Monastery of Saint Dinis in Odivelas
Location Gargoyles Spouts Apertures
Apse 13
Main façade 14
New Cloister 28
Moor’s Cloister 18
Total 13 14 46
5. Concluding Remarks
Since this is still an ongoing work, the following remarks are naturally open to discussion and revision. The architectural elements used in the upper hydraulic subsystem of the Monastery of Saint Dinis, in Odivelas, are the following: roofs, terraces, gargoyles, spouts and apertures. The upper hydraulic subsystem was found to be in very poor condition in both of the cloisters. Regarding the lower hydraulic subsystem, and as usual in religious architecture, both of monastery’s cloisters contain cisterns: one cistern in one of the cloisters and two in the other. Finally, although historical records and maps refer to a set of mines and other hydraulic structures, only three of these mines still exist today (two in Ramada and one in Odivelas). We would like to develop a 3D map and a conservation project for these structures, in order to highlight their importance as municipal heritage sites.
References
DIAS P.; A Arquitectura Gótica Portuguesa, Editorial Estampa, Lisboa, 1994.
JORGE V.; Organização espacio-funcional da abadia cisterciense medieva: Alcobaça, como modelo de análise, in Arte, história e arqueologia. Pretérito (Sempre) Presente, Esquilo, 2006.
JORGE V., TOMÉ M., MONTEIRO M., et all; Aspectos da hidráulica do Mosteiro Cisterciense de São Dinis de Odivelas, in MASCARENHAS, José Manuel P. B. de; Actas do Simpósio Internacional de Hidráulica Monástica e Moderna, Fundação Oriente, Lisboa, 1996.
SHIELL, Christopher; WEST, Roger P., Cathedrals in Ireland – the same but different, in Alexandra de Carvalho Antunes, Grigor Angjeliu and Mariagrazia Bellanova (Editors), Advances in Cultural Heritage Studies, Year 2020. Contributions of the European Students’ Association for Cultural Heritage, Mazu Press, Oeiras/Portugal, 2020, 185-200.