Jardim Botânico de Coimbra: contraponto entre a Arte e a ... - artez
Jardim Botânico de Coimbra: contraponto entre a Arte e a ... - artez
Jardim Botânico de Coimbra: contraponto entre a Arte e a ... - artez
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al e <strong>Jardim</strong> <strong>Botânico</strong> da Ajuda durante o<br />
período em que o naturalista assegurava a<br />
docência coimbrã, <strong>de</strong>ixa bem claro a sedução<br />
do seu compatriota pela arquitectura.<br />
Da experiência do paduano po<strong>de</strong>ria ter<br />
resultado uma reconfiguração do terreno.<br />
No entanto, <strong>de</strong>sconhece-se qualquer documento<br />
que o confirme. A estadia <strong>de</strong> Matti<br />
azzi foi relativamente curta e, provavelmente<br />
em Janeiro, estaria já <strong>de</strong> volta a<br />
Lisboa.<br />
Resta-nos a certeza <strong>de</strong> que, pouco <strong>de</strong>pois da<br />
vinda do referido jardineiro, se realizaram<br />
alterações ao nível da área e nivelamento<br />
do <strong>Jardim</strong>. De facto, enten<strong>de</strong>ndo-se necessário<br />
aumentar o terreno <strong>de</strong>stinado às culturas,<br />
o Reitor esten<strong>de</strong>u, através da compra<br />
<strong>de</strong> um olival, a área do <strong>Jardim</strong> até à estrada<br />
pública e pediu autorização ao Governo<br />
para adquirir mais terreno, com vista a conferir<br />
ao Horto uma forma mais regular. Concedida<br />
a licença a 7 <strong>de</strong> Dezembro <strong>de</strong> 1774,<br />
a compra foi ajustada com os fra<strong>de</strong>s marianos,<br />
apesar <strong>de</strong> só muito mais tar<strong>de</strong> ter sido<br />
realizada.<br />
A partir <strong>de</strong> 1777, com o falecimento do rei<br />
D. José I e a consequente «morte política»<br />
do marquês, o abrandamento do ritmo das<br />
obras universitárias não <strong>de</strong>ixou <strong>de</strong> se reflectir<br />
também na construção <strong>de</strong>ste estabelecimento,<br />
apesar dos esforços movidos por<br />
D. Francisco <strong>de</strong> Lemos para cativar a atenção<br />
da nova rainha, D. Maria I. A Relação<br />
geral do estado da Universida<strong>de</strong> redigida<br />
pelo reitor-reformador e remetida, em 1777,<br />
à soberana, materializa o intuito <strong>de</strong> não<br />
<strong>de</strong>ixar cair por terra a reestruturação principiada.<br />
Misto <strong>de</strong> justificação da própria<br />
reforma e <strong>de</strong> balanço da obra feita e da por<br />
realizar, o texto salienta, na parte referente<br />
ao <strong>Jardim</strong>, o facto <strong>de</strong> este continuar longe<br />
<strong>de</strong> estar terminado pois, à excepção <strong>de</strong> uma<br />
pequena estufa construída em 1776, os trabalhos<br />
e verbas gastas até então (1.349$045<br />
reis) tinham sido essencialmente <strong>de</strong>dicados<br />
a entulhar as partes baixas, a fim <strong>de</strong> se obter<br />
no recinto “a igualda<strong>de</strong> possivel” 11 .<br />
the amount of land given over to cultures,<br />
bought an olive grove and exten<strong>de</strong>d the<br />
Gar<strong>de</strong>n as far as the public road; he also<br />
applied for authorization from the Government<br />
to acquire more land in or<strong>de</strong>r to make<br />
it more regular in shape. After the granting<br />
of the licence on 7th December 1774, the<br />
purchase was negotiated with the Marian<br />
friars, although the <strong>de</strong>al was only finalized<br />
much later.<br />
From 1777, with the <strong>de</strong>ath of the king D.<br />
José I and the consequent political <strong>de</strong>mise<br />
of the Marquis, there was a slackening of<br />
momentum as regards the building works<br />
at the university, reflected also in the construction<br />
of the Gar<strong>de</strong>n, <strong>de</strong>spite the efforts<br />
of D. Francisco <strong>de</strong> Lemos to interest the new<br />
queen, D. Maria I, in the project. The “General<br />
Report on the State of the University”<br />
drawn up by the reformer rector and sent<br />
to the sovereign in 1777 reflects his intention<br />
not to abandon the plan for restructuring.<br />
The text, which both justifies the<br />
reform itself and presents a balance of the<br />
works done and still to do, mentions that<br />
the Gar<strong>de</strong>n was far from being finished;<br />
with the exception of a small greenhouse<br />
built in 1776, almost all the work and funds<br />
spent until then (1349$045 reis) had been<br />
directed at filling in the low parts in or<strong>de</strong>r<br />
to obtain a surface “as level as possible” 11 .<br />
It is believed that this manuscript was complemented<br />
by a volume entitled, on the<br />
binding, Riscos das Obras da Universida<strong>de</strong><br />
<strong>de</strong> <strong>Coimbra</strong> (“Sketches for Works on the<br />
University of <strong>Coimbra</strong>”), which inclu<strong>de</strong>d<br />
not only a <strong>de</strong>scription of the state of the<br />
new constructions in September 1777 and<br />
a list of expenses, but also a series of thirty<br />
drawings of those constructions. The last<br />
two concern the Botanical Gar<strong>de</strong>n: one is<br />
the plan drawn up by Júlio Mattiazzi, which<br />
we have already <strong>de</strong>scribed; the other is the<br />
“Sketch of the Greenhouses of the Botanical<br />
Gar<strong>de</strong>n of the University of <strong>Coimbra</strong>” [4],<br />
undated and unsigned. Curiously, there is<br />
a very similar drawing to this in the Botany<br />
39