Portugese Art History Design - 1974 Guide to Tourist Inns Hotels MCM Furniture 

Sitios e Pousadas: Portugal – Tourist Inns and Localities, author not stated. This richly illustrated large-format volume is a classic visual and design record of Portugal’s national pousadas and tourist inns during the late modernist era, documenting sixteen landmark properties across northern, central, coastal, and interior Portugal. Published in the mid-1970s, the book captures a moment when historic architecture, regional landscapes, and mid-century modern interior design were deliberately combined to promote cultural tourism and national identity.

The book features nearly 300 photographs showing exteriors, interiors, furniture, architectural details, and surrounding landscapes of pousadas located in historically and geographically significant settings. Northern Portugal is represented by properties such as the Pousada de São Teotónio in Valença do Minho, Hotel de Santa Luzia in Viana do Castelo, Pousada de São Bento in Canicada, Pousada de São Bartolomeu in Bragança, and Pousada de Santa Catarina in Miranda do Douro. Central Portugal includes the Pousada de São Gonçalo in Mário, Pousada da Ria in Murtosa (Aveiro), Pousada de Santo António in Mealhada de Vouga (Severin), Pousada de São Jerónimo in the Caramulo Hills, and the Palácio Hotel do Buçaco in the historic Buçaco forest.

Additional sites include the Casa de Chá do Monte Monográfico near Coimbra, the Pousada de São Pedro in Castelo do Bode near Tomar, Pousada de Santa Bárbara in Póvoa das Quartas (Oliveira do Hospital), the dramatic Abrigo para Pescadores on the Berlengas Islands near Peniche, Pousada de São Martinho in Alfeizerão, and the Pousada do Castelo in Óbidos. Together, these locations illustrate Portugal’s varied landscapes, from fortified hill towns and river valleys to Atlantic islands and coastal cliffs.

Beyond photography, the book reflects contemporary thinking on tourism, hospitality, and cultural heritage, connecting modern travel to older traditions of pilgrimage, charity, and regional identity. Essays discuss the historical meaning of “pousada,” the evolution of travel in Portugal, and the relationship between place, architecture, and respite. The interiors prominently feature mid-century modern Portuguese furniture and design, making the book especially appealing to collectors interested in architecture, hotel design, and modernist interiors.

An excellent reference for travelers, architects, designers, historians of tourism, and collectors of mid-century European design and photography, this volume serves both as a visual archive and as a cultural document of Portugal during a transformative period.

Publisher, date of publication: 1974.
Format: Large and heavy hardcover (approximately 10" x 12").
Length: At least 200 pages with approximately 300 images.
Condition: Tight and square binding. Clean pages with no readily visible underlining or writing.
ISBN: not stated.