PORTO
Historic references to the
city go back to the 4th century and to Roman times, although Celtic and Proto-Celtic
remnants of ancient Citadels were found in the heart of where Porto now lies. In
the Roman period the city develloped its importance, but would fall under the Moorish
Muslin invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711. In 868, Vímara Peres, a Christian
warlord from Gallaecia and a vassal of the King of Asturias, Léon and Galicia, Alfonso
III, was sent to reconquer and secure from the Moors the area from the Minho
River to the Douro River, including the city of Portus Cale, later Porto
and Gaia, from were the name and political entity of Portugal emerged. In 868 Count
Vímara Peres established the First County of Portugal (Portuguese: Condado de Portucale), after the reconquest of the
region north of the Douro river.
In 1095, Teresa of León,
illigimate daughter of king Alfonso VI of Castile, married Henry of Burgundy,
bringing the County of Portugal as dowry. This Condado Portucalense
became the focus of the Reconquista and later became the independent Kingdom of
Portugal, after eventually expanding to its current frontiers into the 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 1st millennium.
In 1387, this city was the
scene for the marriage of João I and Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of
Gaunt, symbolising the long-standing military alliance between Portugal and England,
the world's oldest military alliance, which still holds via NATO. At the time
of his marriage the king stayed at the Church of St. Francis as a proof of his
esteem for the Franciscans.
In the 14th and the 15th
centuries, the shipyards of Porto contributed to the development of the
Portuguese fleet. In 1415 Henry the Navigator, son of João I, left from Porto
to conquest the Muslim port of Ceuta in northern Morocco. This expedition led
to the exploratory voyages that he later sent down the coast of Africa.
Wine, produced in the Douro
valley, was already in the 13th century transported to Porto in barcos
rabelos (flat sailing vessels). In 1703 the Methuen Treaty established the
trade relations between Portugal and England. It allowed English woollen cloth
to be admitted into Portugal free of duty. In return, Portuguese wines imported
into England would be subject to a third less duty in contrast to French
imported wines. This was particularly important with regards to the Port
industry. As England was at war with France it became increasingly difficult to
acquire wine and so port started to become a popular replacement. In 1717 a
first English trading post was established in Porto. The production of port
wine then gradually passed into the hands of a few English firms. To counter
this English dominance, prime minister Marquis of Pombal established a
Portuguese firm receiving the monopoly of the wines from the Douro valley. He
demarcated the region for production of port, to ensure the wine's quality; his
was the first attempt to control wine quality and production in Europe. The
small winegrowers revolted against his strict policies on Shrove Tuesday,
burning down the buildings of this firm . The revolt was called Revolta dos
Borrachos (revolt of the drunks) and became a symbol of the freedom spirit
of the inhabitants of Porto.
Between 1732 and 1763,
Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni designed a baroque church with a tower that
would become its icon: the Torre dos Clérigos (English: Clerics Tower).
During the 18th and 19th
centuries the city became an important industrial centre and saw its size and
population increase. The invasion of the Napoleonic troops in Portugal under
Marshal Soult is still vividly remembered in Porto. On 29 March 1809, as the
population fled for the advancing troops and tried to cross the river Douro
over the Ponte das Barcas (a pontoon bridge), the bridge collapsed under the
weight. Possibly 6,000 people drowned in the disaster. This event is still
remembered by a plate at the Ponte D. Luis I. The French army was rooted out of
Porto by Arthur Wellesley, when his troops crossed the Douro river from the
Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar (a former convent) in a brilliant daylight coup de
main.
In August 1820 Porto
rebelled against the English occupation, resulting in a civil war in Portugal. In
1822 a liberal constitution was accepted, partly through the efforts of the
liberal assembly of Porto (Junta do Porto). When Miguel of Portugal took the
Portuguese throne in 1828, he rejected this constitution and reigned as an
absolutist monarch. Porto rebelled again and had to undergo a siege of eighteen
months between 1832 and 1833 by the Portuguese army. After the abdication of
king Miguel the liberal constitution was re-established.
Unrest by republicans led
to a revolt in Porto on 31 January 1891. This would result ultimately in the
creation of the Portuguese republic in 1910.
A two-level iron bridge -
Dom Luís I (designed by the Belgian engineer Téophile Seyrig, a student of Gustave
Eiffel), and a railway bridge - Maria Pia, designed by 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 higher learning institution in nautical sciences (Aula
de Náutica, 1762) and a stock exchange (Bolsa do Porto, 1834) were established
in the city but would be discontinued later.
For having bravely resisted
a military invasion in the 19th century by the Imperial Napoleonic Armies, and
never been conquered by either attempts by the Moors or, militarily, even the
Romans, the city is now known as The Unvanquished City (A Cidade
Invicta).
The first Portuguese moving
pictures were taken in Porto by Aurélio da Paz dos Reis and shown there on 12
November 1896 in Teatro do Príncipe Real do Porto, less than a year after the
first public presentation by Auguste and Louis Lumière. The country's first movie
studios Invicta Filmes was also erected in Porto in 1917 and was open from 1918
to 1927 in the area of Carvalhido. Manoel de Oliveira, a well-known Portuguese film
director and the oldest director in the world who is still active, is from
Porto. Fantasporto is a remarkable international film festival organized in
Porto every year.
Many renowned Portuguese
music artists and cult bands such as GNR, Rui Veloso, Sérgio Godinho, and Clã
are from the city.
Porto has several museums,
concert halls, theaters, cinemas, art galleries, libraries and book shops. The
best-known museums of Oporto are the Soares dos Reis National Museum (Museu
Nacional de Soares dos Reis), which is dedicated especially to the
Portuguese artistic movements from the 16th to the 20th century, 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 such as the Coliseu
do Porto by the Portuguese architect Cassiano Branco; an exquisite example
of the Portuguese decorative arts, it is seen by many as one of the best and
most elegant concert halls in Europe. Other notable venues include the Rivoli
theatre, the Batalha cinema and the recent Casa da Música.
Oporto's most popular event
is undoubtedly St. John on the night of 23 to 24 of June. In this season it's a
tradition to have a vase with bush basil decorated with a small poem. During
the dinner of the great day people usually eat sardines and boiled potatoes
together with red wine. In the evening everybody gathers in downtown and hit
each other with plastic hammers and leeks. There are also fires lit on the
streets that are jumped over. At midnight there's a big fireworks show next to
the river.
One other major event is
Queima das Fitas, on the second week of May. Basically, before the beginning of
the study period preceding the school year’s last exams, academia tries to have
as much fun as possible. The week comprehends 12 events, starting with the
Monumental Serenata on Sunday, reaching its peak with the Cortejo Académico on
Tuesday, when 500 000 students from the universities and higher schools of the
city march through the downtown streets till they reach the city hall. During
every night of the week a series of concerts takes place on the Queimódromo,
next to the city’s park; here it’s also a tradition for the students in the
second last year to erect small tents where alcoholic beverages are sold in
order to finance the trip that takes place during the last year of their
course; an average of 50 000 students attend these shows.
Porto is home to a number
of dishes from traditional Portuguese cuisine. A typical dish from this city is
Tripas à Moda do Porto (Tripes à la Porto in English), which still can
be found everywhere in the city today. Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá (Codfish à
la Gomes de Sá) is other typical dish born in Porto and popular in Portugal. The
Francesinha (Frenchie) is the most famous popular native snack food in
Porto. It is a kind of sandwich with several meats covered with cheese and a
special sauce made with beer and other ingredients. Port wine, an
internationally renowned wine, is widely accepted as the city's aperitif or dessert
wine.
Known as the city of
bridges, the first permanent bridge – the Ponte das Barcas (a pontoon
bridge) – was built in 1806, but three years later was sabotaged to prevent the
invasion led by Marshal Soult during the Peninsular War with Napoleonic troops,
who were believed to be coming from the south. However, they appeared from the
north, and the population, unware of the situation, tried to flee across it en
masse, causing the death of around 4000 locals. It was replaced in 1843 by the Ponte
D. Maria II, known as Ponte Pênsil (suspended), of which only the
supporting pylons remain after being replaced by the Luís I and the Maria Pia
bridges. During the 20th century, other bridges were built: Arrábida,
which at its opening had the biggest concrete supporting arch in the world, and
connects north and south shores of the Douro on the west side of the city, S.
João, to replace Maria Pia and Freixo, on the east side of
the city. The newest bridge is Ponte do Infante, finished in 2003.
Porto is served by Francisco
Sá Carneiro Airport (IATA: OPO) which is located some 15km to the north-west of
the city centre. The airport is a state-of-the-art facility, having undergone a
massive program of refurbishment due to the Euro 2004 football championships
being partly hosted in the city. Direct flights to a growing number of major
cities in Europe and the Americas are available; from these, of special
interest are low cost connections to London, Frankfurt, Liverpool, Dublin and Paris.
It is currently the 3rd best airport in Europe and the 3rd best in the world in
the category of under five million passengers.
Porto's main railway
station is situated in Campanhã, on the main line to Lisbon. From here, both metro
and suburban rail services go to the city centre. The main central station is
at São Bento, which is itself a notable attraction.
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