ABSTRACT
The fishing village of Fuzeta, in southern Portugal, provides a remarkable and yet unique example of Mediterranean vernacular architecture. Although most of the buildings in the historical centre were built between the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, the underlying urbanism dates to the 17th century with the first fishermen settlements located on the seafront. The homogeneous architecture is particularly relevant because of the pervasive use of a typology of houses with terraces on brick vaults with different shapes and geometries – lowered barrel, sail and cloister – still preserved today. This paper characterizes, analyzes and compares the types of brick vaulted houses in Fuzeta. The conducted research indicates that these anonymous constructions were nourished by an erudite source, the church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo, built at the same time and sharing builders and knowledge, blurring boundaries between vernacular and erudite.
