Laje Source

Category: Civil Architecture > Spring / Fountain

District: Aveiro > Santa Maria da Feira > Várzea > PERM - Parque Empresarial de Recuperação de Materiais das Terras de Santa Maria

Location

The Fonte da Laje is located in the district of Aveiro, more specifically in the municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, in the locality of Várzea. This point of interest is situated within the boundaries of the PERM, Parque Empresarial de Recuperação de Materiais das Terras de Santa Maria (Business Park for Material Recovery of Terras de Santa Maria).

Its presence in this business park gives it a particular setting, where the old structure manifests itself in a predominantly modern and functional environment, constituting an element that evokes the region's history within its contemporary evolution.

Structure and Historical Purpose

As a typical representation of civil architecture linked to water management, the Fonte da Laje presents itself as a structure designed for the capture and distribution of a natural watercourse. Its design, likely more utilitarian than purely decorative, reflects the vital importance that fountains played in the daily lives of rural communities.

Built with durable materials, such as stone, its shape and robustness suggest that it served, over various periods, as an essential point for supplying water to populations, herds, or for agricultural purposes in the surrounding area of Várzea, before the landscape transformation of the area.

A Legacy in the Present

The Fonte da Laje, although integrated into a modern business context, maintains its value as a testimony to the landscape and way of life that once characterized these lands of Santa Maria. Its preservation on-site, despite the profound urban and functional changes in the area, allows visitors a perspective on the rural past and the popular engineering dedicated to water resources.

It constitutes a point of interest that invites reflection on the evolution of the territory and the capacity of historical elements to coexist with contemporary development, functioning as a silent reminder of origins and the continuity of time.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt