Aveiro was once a great sea port on the Atlantic, rich from salt pans and the launching place for cod fishing in Newfoundland by the 16th century. However, in 1575 this came to a halt as the harbor silted over with a very unhealthy lagoon with no access to the sea. In the 19th century canals were dug to allow access again and making the small city look like the towns in Holland.
Nowadays it's only tourists who take a boat ride though there are remnants of the market where fish was sold and cod is still the most common fish served though it's not caught anywhere nearby.
A most interesting Maritime Museum in a small town called Ilhavo had boats including this large fishing boat used for cod fishing. There were lots of informational displays that told about this important industry for Portugal. The ships would sail to Newfoundland, a distance of 2500 miles, put out the small boats to catch the cod, salt it and return home. Of course they depleted the fish stock so now they fish off of Iceland.
Boat building, different types of seagoing vessels and displays of how lives were lived aboard the cod fishing boats. The giant conch can be seen in some churches (in Coimbra) as fonts for holy water.
On the way to Porto we stopped to see a disneyland castle in Santa Maria da Feira, built in 1117. What you see is mostly a 20th century reconstruction, it was initially renovated in the 15th century and looks like with the crane and building materials they are at it again.
The train station in Porto (Sao Bento) is how most people arrive in Porto. It is located on the site of a previous monastery and was completed in 1916. The azulejo tile work is amazingly detailed.
The azulejos are by one artist, Jorge Colacao and tell the history of Porto and of Portugal.
Ever since the Romans built a fort here, a trading route using the Douro river, Porto has been an important commercial center. The Moors were expelled in the 11th century, and crusaders on their way to the Holy Land took advantage of what Oporto had to offer. The spice trade was important to Oporto (Porto) economically but was replaced with wine trade with Great Britain and the longest alliance in European history to this day. That is why the brands of Port wine from here exclusively all have British sounding names.
The first photo shows the pedestrian bridge that allows access to the other side of the Douro River ( to Gaia) where the Port wineries and tasting rooms are. It is a metal bridge and reminds people of the Eiffel Tower, built by one of his assistants in 1886. The bottom right shows a church with beautiful azulejo tiles on the outside, the train station, and construction for an expanded metro that will likely take many more years to complete.
The main cathedral (Se) was built as a fortress and a church starting in the 12th century and completed in the 16th century. The cloisters and the tower area have unbroken walls of tile telling stories from Porto life to biblical imagery. The bottom photo is in the plaza in front of the cathedral which occupies a high point in the city. This stone monument has the hooks just as the one from Coruche did as a reminder of the pillory.
Livrarira Lello is one of the oldest bookstores in Portugal and was made famous by Harry Potter. JK Rowling, the author lived in Porto for a time teaching English and apparently the bookstore was an inspiration for some of the Hogwarts scenes. The bookstore was established in 1869 and moved to its present location in 1906. It's an Art Nouveau marvel. The cathedral you see in the center picture is the Carmelite Cathedral from the 17th century builts as two identical churches, one for men and one for women, but it was not permitted for there to be a common wall between them so they built a "house" in between (see the green door and skinny windows). The statue is of Henry the Navigator who I've talked about before, revered by many in Portugal as the initiator of expansion and colonization. Not sure why that should be considered such a good thing.
As do many towns and cities there is a Jewish quarter in Porto but of course it is devoid of Jews as they were expelled in 1496. The plaque acknowledges this sad history. Portugal offers legacy citizenship to any Jewish person whose ancestors were expelled. Seems like a hard thing to prove. Ironically in an area devoid of Jews there was graffiti "From the River to the Sea Palestine will be free."
The city merchants built the Bolsa (stock exchange) in 1842 which nowadays is home of the Chamber of Commerce. The bottom two slides (middle and right) are in the court room where mercantile law was adjudicated. Nowadays the Port producers have tastings in this room to determine rankings of the port wine produced in a given year. Hence the painting with the large barrel.
Beautiful marquetry on the floor and the walls are mock wood (actually painted plaster). The lights you see are the first electric light fixtures in the city.
Our guide made a big productions about opening the doors to reveal the Arabian Room, inspired by the Alhambra in Grenada, Spain. Check it out, you can rent it for 7000 Euros for 3 hours.....
This room was added in 1862 and used as a reception hall for dignitaries or heads of state. Quite dramatic with words from the Quran, not translatable.
Next door to the bolsa is the San Francisco Church, also quite ornate with what is supposed to be 400 lbs of gold leaf. It is in Baroque style. Remember that statue of Henry the Navigator just outside, where do you think all the gold came from?!
The Portuguese guitar and other stringed instruments are an integral part of the culture and the music called Fado. The guitar center sells all sorts of stringed instruments but also serves as a museum of the history of Portuguese music.
Last day in Porto some city and river scenes. The last slide is the goddess of justice who is usually shown blindfolded and with balanced scales in her hand. This statue is from the time of the dictatorship so justice is not blind and the scales are not balanced. Let that sink in.
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