Castro Verde, Casa da Dona Maria

For SC103- post 7 July - Characterful building

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Casa Dona Maria, also known as Palacete Colaço, is a historic building in the town of Castro Verde, in the Baixo Alentejo region of Portugal.

Description and history
The property consists of a manor house, a large private dwelling, accessed from Rua Fialho de Almeida.It is considered one of the town's ex-libris and one of the most outstanding buildings in the historic centre of Castro Verde, due to its architectural richness, especially on the rear façade. In fact, its concrete construction allowed for the installation of various elements that were considered innovative for the time. The exterior features a miscellany of elements in various styles, such as windows and doors with a neo-Gothic, neo-Manueline and neo-Islamic appearance, small towers and balconies with various levels, which were originally intended to be glazed to function as cages. Inside, the fountains, fountains, stained glass windows, skylights and prettified cement elements, which simulate the effects of marble and wood, stand out.

It was built in the 1920s by wealthy farmer Álvaro Romano Colaço, during a period of great expansion of cement as a building material. In 2017, the video clip Fadinho Alentejano by fado singer Ricardo Ribeiro was premiered, which was partly filmed at Casa Dona Maria, with the collaboration of Álvaro Romano Colaço's heirs.

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