Artistic production conveys messages and has historically represented rivers through various forms, including architecture, painting, and music. Today, the expression and interpretation of rivers in art have evolved to focus more on environmental concerns and the re-examination of cultural practices, differing significantly from past approaches. Recent research often emphasises specific artistic media, particularly visual and performative arts, while neglecting architecture as a means of representing the river. Much of the analysis focuses on contemporary practices or historical interpretations tied to specific time periods, without establishing methods for continuous analysis of how these representations evolve. In this context, the study analyses artistic representations of the Tagus River integrated into architecture, aiming to understand how these forms of expression are maintained and transformed across different territorial contexts: urban, peri-urban, and rural. The research is developed in four phases: i) a survey of historical representations in architecture and related visual arts, utilizing documentary and iconographic sources, ii) the selection of three case studies along the Tagus River, representing urban, peri-urban, and rural contexts to facilitate comparison, iii) the collection of contemporary artistic practices related to the contexts of the case studies to observe current forms of representation, and iv) a diachronic comparative analysis aimed at identifying patterns of continuity and change. The study highlights changes in how rivers are represented, emphasising the shift from durable materials to more ephemeral ones. This transition illustrates how river representations evolve over time. Additionally, the research demonstrates how architecture contributes to the ongoing representation of rivers, allowing us to view riverine territories as a narrative system influenced by artistic forms. This perspective opens new avenues for research that considers the landscape as an active archive, enabling a comprehensive analysis of different forms of representation and their evolution across diverse cultural contexts.

I thank DINÂMIA CET for supporting this research, and my supervisor, Rolando Volzone, for his valuable guidance throughout.

Tagus River,Architectural representation,Narrative archive,Riverine landscape,Diachronic analysis