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Oporto
KNOWLEDGE OF Oporto
Porto (in English also Oporto; Portuguese pron. IPA /'poɾ.tu/), formerly Portucale, population 263,000 in 15 parishes, with 1,551,950 in the metropolitan area, is Portugal's second city. It is the seat of the Porto district and capital of the Norte region. It is situated in the north of the country, on the northern bank of the Douro River, just in from the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
The country of Portugal and Port Wine (Portuguese: Vinho do Porto) owe their names to the city of Porto.
One of Portugal's most internationally appreciated products is Port Wine. Its name comes from the fact that it ages in cellars in Porto's southern sister city Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the river Douro. Port Wine gets its distinctive taste from brandy that is added during the fermentation process. This additive causes fermentation to stop, allowing for much of the sweetness of the grape to remain intact. The results of this process were discovered quite by accident by British traders who added the brandy to the wine simply to fortify it for long sea voyages back to England.
Porto is one of the most industrialised districts in Portugal and the city of Porto in particularly is occasionally called "A capital do norte" (English: "The Capital of the North"), for it serves as the center of a higher industrialised northern region of Portugal, and is well known for its enterprising spirit, characteristic culture, people, and local cuisine.
Historic references to the city go back to the 5th century and to Roman times. In the period before the foundation of Portugal, it was named Portus Cale - Harbour of Cale in English. The surrounding county was thus named Condado Portucalense (English: Portuguese county). This county later became the independent kingdom called Portugal, which eventually expanded to its current frontiers south as it reconquered territory back from the invading Moors under the reign of King Dom Afonso Henriques, o Conquistador in the beginning of the first millennium.
This city was the scene for the marriage of João I and Philippa of Lancaster, symbolising the long-standing military alliance between Portugal and England.
In 1754, the Italian architect Nasoni designed a tower that was built in one of the central zones of the city and became its icon: Torre dos Clérigos (English: Tower of the Clerics).
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became an important industrial centre and saw its size and population increase. A two-level iron bridge - Dom Luís I - (designed by the Belgian engineer Téophile Seyrig) and a railway bridge - Maria Pia -, designed by Gustave Eiffel, in association with Seyrig, were constructed, as well as the central railway station (São Bento, considered to be one of the most beautiful in Europe ornamented with lavish painted tiles). A university (Aula de Náutica, 1762) and stock exchange (Bolsa do Porto, 1834) were established in the city. For having bravely resisted to a military invasion in the 19th century the city is now also known as The Unvanquished City (A Cidade Invicta).
The first Portuguese moving pictures were taken in Porto by Aurélio Paz do Reis and shown there in 12 November 1896 in Teatro do Príncipe Real do Porto, less than a year after the first public presentation by Auguste and Louis Lumière.
Porto has several museums, concert halls, theaters cinemas, libraries and book shops. The most well known museums of Oporto are the Soares dos Reis National Museum (Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis) that is dedicated especially to the Portuguese artistic movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Serralves Foundation (Museu de Arte Contemporânea). The city has concert halls of a rare beauty and elegance like the Coliseu do Porto, an exquisite example of the Portuguese decorative arts, the Rivoli theatre and the more recent Batalha cinema.
In 2001, Porto shared the designation European Culture Capital (together with the Dutch city of Rotterdam). In the scope of these events, the construction of the major concert hall space Casa da Música, designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, was initiated.
In recent years, UNESCO recognised the historic centre (which dates back to the Middle Ages and the Roman Empire) as a World Heritage Site.
The Fantasporto International Film Festival is also a great cultural event of the city, attracting many national and foreign film commentators to the city.
Several architectonic highlights adorn the city of Porto, from the main avenue in the cities center Avenida dos Aliados [English: Allies Avenue, after Portugal's participation in WWI], to the magnificent gardens of Palacio de Cristal, and from the millennia-old well-preserved Romanic churches to the myriads of painted tile-adorned interior and exterior walls that appear in both interiors, in the São Bento Station, and exteriors, in the church of Santo Ildefonso.
A guided visit to the old city's stock exchange (Bolsa), and in particular the Arab Room, is a gem that any visitor shouldn't miss.
Oporto is a small (in the European context) but an extremely rich city in cultural and historical terms. But its progressive abandonment is very prejudicial to its integrity. The more ancient houses are abandoned and the local government doesn't practice much actions of maintenance. Much of the city's oldest houses are in risk of collapsing.
The country of Portugal and Port Wine (Portuguese: Vinho do Porto) owe their names to the city of Porto.
One of Portugal's most internationally appreciated products is Port Wine. Its name comes from the fact that it ages in cellars in Porto's southern sister city Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the river Douro. Port Wine gets its distinctive taste from brandy that is added during the fermentation process. This additive causes fermentation to stop, allowing for much of the sweetness of the grape to remain intact. The results of this process were discovered quite by accident by British traders who added the brandy to the wine simply to fortify it for long sea voyages back to England.
Porto is one of the most industrialised districts in Portugal and the city of Porto in particularly is occasionally called "A capital do norte" (English: "The Capital of the North"), for it serves as the center of a higher industrialised northern region of Portugal, and is well known for its enterprising spirit, characteristic culture, people, and local cuisine.
Historic references to the city go back to the 5th century and to Roman times. In the period before the foundation of Portugal, it was named Portus Cale - Harbour of Cale in English. The surrounding county was thus named Condado Portucalense (English: Portuguese county). This county later became the independent kingdom called Portugal, which eventually expanded to its current frontiers south as it reconquered territory back from the invading Moors under the reign of King Dom Afonso Henriques, o Conquistador in the beginning of the first millennium.
This city was the scene for the marriage of João I and Philippa of Lancaster, symbolising the long-standing military alliance between Portugal and England.
In 1754, the Italian architect Nasoni designed a tower that was built in one of the central zones of the city and became its icon: Torre dos Clérigos (English: Tower of the Clerics).
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became an important industrial centre and saw its size and population increase. A two-level iron bridge - Dom Luís I - (designed by the Belgian engineer Téophile Seyrig) and a railway bridge - Maria Pia -, designed by Gustave Eiffel, in association with Seyrig, were constructed, as well as the central railway station (São Bento, considered to be one of the most beautiful in Europe ornamented with lavish painted tiles). A university (Aula de Náutica, 1762) and stock exchange (Bolsa do Porto, 1834) were established in the city. For having bravely resisted to a military invasion in the 19th century the city is now also known as The Unvanquished City (A Cidade Invicta).
The first Portuguese moving pictures were taken in Porto by Aurélio Paz do Reis and shown there in 12 November 1896 in Teatro do Príncipe Real do Porto, less than a year after the first public presentation by Auguste and Louis Lumière.
Porto has several museums, concert halls, theaters cinemas, libraries and book shops. The most well known museums of Oporto are the Soares dos Reis National Museum (Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis) that is dedicated especially to the Portuguese artistic movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Serralves Foundation (Museu de Arte Contemporânea). The city has concert halls of a rare beauty and elegance like the Coliseu do Porto, an exquisite example of the Portuguese decorative arts, the Rivoli theatre and the more recent Batalha cinema.
In 2001, Porto shared the designation European Culture Capital (together with the Dutch city of Rotterdam). In the scope of these events, the construction of the major concert hall space Casa da Música, designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, was initiated.
In recent years, UNESCO recognised the historic centre (which dates back to the Middle Ages and the Roman Empire) as a World Heritage Site.
The Fantasporto International Film Festival is also a great cultural event of the city, attracting many national and foreign film commentators to the city.
Several architectonic highlights adorn the city of Porto, from the main avenue in the cities center Avenida dos Aliados [English: Allies Avenue, after Portugal's participation in WWI], to the magnificent gardens of Palacio de Cristal, and from the millennia-old well-preserved Romanic churches to the myriads of painted tile-adorned interior and exterior walls that appear in both interiors, in the São Bento Station, and exteriors, in the church of Santo Ildefonso.
A guided visit to the old city's stock exchange (Bolsa), and in particular the Arab Room, is a gem that any visitor shouldn't miss.
Oporto is a small (in the European context) but an extremely rich city in cultural and historical terms. But its progressive abandonment is very prejudicial to its integrity. The more ancient houses are abandoned and the local government doesn't practice much actions of maintenance. Much of the city's oldest houses are in risk of collapsing.
Chapi