Porto Historical Curiosities

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Places of Interest City of Porto Gastronomy Accommodation World Heritage Classified & Protected Areas Guided Tour

The origins of the urban centre date back to the Late Bronze Age, 8th century BC approximately. From the beginning, the pre-historic settlement had important commercial links with the Mediterranean Basin. During the Roman occupation, the city was already provided with impressive buildings and controlled an important road network between Lisbon and Braga. The city was formerly called Cale and later Portucale, from which the name Portugal was derived.

The wall of Porto was built in the Roman period. The original layout was reconstructed in the 12th century, when the borough was donated to Bishop D. Hugo who issued the first charter. The second layout of the wall dates back to the 14th century; it encloses the hills of Sé and Vitória and descends towards the river where the mooring quay and the Royal Customs House were located. Between the 13th and 15th century, the maritime and commercial activities underwent great development, and the links with important European ports were strengthened, such as Barcelona, Valencia, La

Rochelle, Rouen, London, Ypres, Antwerp, etc. In this period, the shipyards of Oporto and Vila Nova de Gaia were the most important ones in the country.

One of the negotiators of 1352 treaty between England and Portugal was born in Porto. His name was Afonso Martins Alho, and his surname ('alho' is Portuguese for 'garlic') has been perpetuated in a popular expression used to refer to someone clever: "fino que nem um Alho". In 1394, the Infante D. Henrique was born in this city. He was the "navigator" prince, who launched the era of the Portuguese discoveries overseas. The inhabitants of Porto are known as tripeiros (literally, "tripe eaters"), due to their sacrifice in order to help the army that conquered Ceuta in 1415. It is said that they offered all the good meat to the expeditionary forces and only kept the tripe for themselves. That is why one of the city's most traditional dishes is "tripas à moda do Porto".

The author of the well-known Carta da Descoberta do Brasil (1500) was the Porto-born Pero Vaz de Caminha, former servant of the Mint, who was requested by the King to follow the expedition of Pedro Álvares Cabral and write the official report of the journey.

The Spanish occupation (1580-1640) was a period of great urban and administrative development. Significant artistic changes began in this period and reached their peak in the 18th century. It is worth mentioning the Baroque style, the best exponent of which was the Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni (1725-1773), as well as several portuguese masters, such as António Pereira and Miguel Francisco da Silva. Another important change was the urban reform carried out by João de Almada e Melo (1757-1786) and the beautiful Neo-classic buildings influenced by the English colony in the city. It was also the golden age for the Port wine. Porto has always been known as a liberal and progressive city, with a long-standing tradition of defence of civil rights. Its population withstood a long military siege by the royalist forces between 1832 and 1833. The victory of the liberal cause was partly due to the sacrifice of

the people, who fought to support the Constitutional Chart. As a result of this heroic action, King Pedro IV described it as the "very noble, undefeated and ever loyal" city of Oporto.

After the establishment of the Republic, the city underwent a new renovation process, among which it is to be noted the construction of the Aliados Avenue. The project was begun in 1915 by the English Barry Parker and contined under the influence of the French school, due to architect Marques da Silva, who had studied in Paris. This harmonious and beautiful avenue is the northern limit to the protection area of the historic centre. Porto is also known as the "city of work", due to the traditional dynamism of the city's bourgeoisie, as well as to their honesty and

straight forwardness. On the other hand, Porto's intense social and cultural life has very special characteristics.

Places of Interest City of Porto Gastronomy Accommodation World Heritage Classified & Protected Areas Guided Tour