Livraria Lello: Portugal’s Highly Embellished Bookstore

In this installment of ‘Larger Than Life: Architecture Through the Ages,’ we visit one of the most ornate expressions of the Neo-Gothic style.

Books are secondary in the Livraria Lello’s extraordinary main interior space, which brims with copious visual details. The central focus is the sweeping, forked staircase that features crimson-painted steps and is accentuated with a carved banister and railing. The second-floor ceiling’s magnificent stained glass is viewable from the first floor. Wooden floor-to-ceiling bookcases, some open and some enclosed in glass, are separated by carefully crafted segments featuring large quatrefoil designs. Nido Huebl/Shutterstock

Magical is a word visitors have used to describe Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal. While the bookstore’s exterior is fairly unassuming, it does feature distinct tracery (ornamental stone work) and signature Portuguese azulejo painted tin-glazed ceramic tile. The bookstore’s interior features embellishment galore: intricate woodworking, brightly hued stained glass, and painstakingly complex plasterwork.

In 1906, Portuguese engineer Francisco Xavier Esteves created a unique architectural design for Livraria Lello that merged two primary styles. The main architectural style is neo-Gothic, with plenty of pointed arches, as well as rosette and foliage designs, giving the interior a vast medieval, church-like atmosphere. Meanwhile, the extravagant flowing lines in the staircase express art nouveau, which simulates nature with organic, linear rhythms.