Portugal North September 5-6, 2021
Alto Douro is a Portuguese wine region centered on the Douro River located some distance upstream from Porto, sheltered by mountain ranges from coastal influence. While the region is associated primarily with Port wine production, the Douro produces just as much table wine (non-fortified wines) as it does fortified wine.
There is archaeological evidence for winemaking in the region dating from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. The earliest known mention of “Port wine” dates from 1675. And Port wine became the primary product of the region and became the world’s first wine region to have a formal demarcation.
While table wine has always been produced in the region, but Barca Velha was first produced in 1952 and it was not until the 1990s when a large number of wines made their appearance. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2001.
The Douro wine region is situated around the Douro river valley and the lower valley’s of its tributaries Varosa, Corgo, Távora, Torto, and Pinhão. The region is sheltered from Atlantic winds by the Marão and Montemuro mountains and has a continental climate, with hot and dry summers and cold winters.
I had a mammoth drive through this area as I came from Cao and drove northwest not hitting one freeway. It is very picturesque with vineyards ascending the mountains from the river on terraces, reminding me of the enormous rice terraces in the Philippines and parts of China. The large river Douro was visible far below. The last 20 km to a winery were on tortuous single lane.
Praia do Senhor da Pedra. This is the large beach south of Porto on the other side of the Douro.
PORTO
I was first in Porto around New Year in 2018. I started the 250km Camino de Portuguese from here on January 2. I was the only one doing it in the winter.
Cinema Batalha is ae cinema and concert venue in Porto. It was built in the Art-Deco style and inaugurated in 1947. After many years of success, it began losing customers (due to the popularity of video rental services in the 1980s and the growth of multiplex theatres in malls during the 1990s), and was closed in 2003. Re-opened as a cultural and concert venue in 2006, the reconstruction faithfully maintained the original Art-Deco style and renovated the main auditorium (new seating), air conditioning, ventilation systems and electrical installations, that cost about one million Euros.
A four-story, trapezoidal structure in an Art Deco-inspired design. The main facade has a curved corner and smooth stone facade, broken by a raised marble relief by Américo Braga. The protruding rooftop is a triangular terrace overlooking the square,
The main stage and exhibition hall with an “L”-shaped foyer opening to the square and road. The three foyers on separate floors, are decorated in varnished woods, glass/windows and integrated copper and metal elements. The floors are black, polished marmorite. The cinema includes two auditoriums, with 950 and 135 seats, two bars, a restaurant on the terrace; and lounges.
Church Ildefonso is an eighteenth-century church in Porto near Batalha Square. Completed in 1739, the church was built in a proto-Baroque style and features a retable by the Italian artist Nicolau Nasoni and a façade of 1932 azulejo tilework. The church is named in honour of the Visigoth, Ildephonsus of Toledo, bishop of Toledo from 657 until his death in 667.
The original chapel, in danger of collapsing, was demolished in 1709 and construction began on the new church that year, taking thirty years to complete, Extensively repaired following a severe storm in 1819, the church also suffered damage from artillery fire in 1833 during the Siege of Porto. The stained glass windows were replaced in 1967. Constructed of granite, the shape is an elongated octagon. A monolithic obelisk stands to the left of the church.
The notable feature is the blue-and-white tiling with approximately 11,000 azulejo tiles covering the façade and placed in 1932. The tiles depict scenes from the life of Saint Ildefonso and figurative imagery from the Gospels.
Porto Cathedral. I visited here in 2011 when I was first in Porto.
Livaria Lello. In the NM Bizzarium series, this wonderful bookstore has been called the most beautiful in the world. It is one of the oldest bookstores in Portugal and frequently rated among the top bookstores in the world (placing third in lists by guidebook publisher Lonely Planet and The Guardian).
First founded in 1869, it was moved into this building in 1906. Beginning in 2015, the bookstore began requesting entrance fees for visitors.
The famous staircase to the second-floor shelves
Igreja do Carmo
Jardins do Palacio de Cristal
Forte de Sao Joao Baptista
Felgueiras Lighthouse. The main lighthouse at the entrance to the Douro River, it sits at the end of a pier. It is stone with a red lantern.Fort of Saint Francis Xavier. This small fort sits at the south end of Matosinios Beach.
Matosinios Beach. A deep beach between the fort and a large breakwater.
Obelisk Memory, Perafita: – National Monument. When Portugal was invaded by French troops i 1807, King John VI and the royal family fled to Brazil. With the Liberal Revolution of 1820, he returned in 1821, Pedro I stayed to rule Brazil and led a revolt to declare Brazil independent in 1822, assuming the title of emperor. . During the Portuguese War (Liberal War), Pedro I abdicated in favor of his son (Pedro II) and returned to Portugal as Pedro IV. With of help of English liberals, he led attacked the Absolutist army (led by his brother Miguel) on this beach in 1832. The war would end 2 years later with Miguel’s decapitation.
Pedro’s IV’s army of 7500 became known as the ‘Braves of Mindelo (a nearby beach).
GUIMARAES
Historic Centre of Guimarães WHS. Guimaraes is not to be missed with a wonderful centre. Most buildings have stone accents, balconies, and a consistent style. On Sunday, Sept 5, it was not crowded and parking easy.
Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zone (extension) Tentative WHS. The Couros (Leather) Zone is an urban area with tanneries used over several centuries starting in the 10th century. The development of the Historic Centre of Guimarães cannot be separated from this area on the lower part of the town, near the Couros River. They were gradually decommissioned in the mid-20th century.
Some buildings have been converted into cultural and social facilities. The area covers around 25 hectares, comprising over fifteen industrial facilities (some for household use) and an extension of tanning tanks exceeding 4000 m2 which,
Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Oliveira. A 3-nave church with nice simple chapels all centered by a painting. The altar is gilt baroque. Free
Alberto Sampaio Museum. This museum serves as the repository for art rescued from the local monasteries and churches, much from the church. The building surrounds the back of the church with columns resembling a cloister. I generally don’t like religious art but this is all very good. Some highlights are the bas relief carved wood panels painted with polychromes. One looks like the Last Supper but Jesus and Judas are not present as it is after his death and represents the other 11 apostles spreading the word.
Sampaio was a 19th-century local historian and had nothing to do with the collection.
4€, 2 reduced
Casa da Memória Guimarães. A municipal museum. Has a good time line of the city dating back to Roman times. Good photos. 2 reduced
Guimaraes Castle. A classic Portuguese castle with crenellated high walls incorporating several large boulders and a central keep. 1 reduced.
Palace of the Dukes of Bragança. Don’t miss this palace. It has been beautifully restored – the outside has crenelated walls and many brick chimneys. Inside the stone is gorgeous with lovely fireplaces, furniture, carpets, tapestries, stained glass and wonderful wood ceilings. A highlight is the six vertical stained glass windows in the chapel. 5€, 2.50 reduced
Citania de Briterios is an archaeological site of the Castro culture about 25kms from Guimarães. Although primarily known as the remains of an Iron Age proto-urban hill fort (or oppidum), the excavations at the site have revealed evidence of sequential settlement, extending from the Bronze to Middle Ages.
The site was probably constructed between the first and second century BC. It is not known when or why this first group left. Numerous early engraved rock surfaces were destroyed when many boulders were cut to build the ramparts and family compounds as the Castro settlement grew. The majority of the ruins visible today have been dated from the second Iron Age, especially the last two centuries BC.
The Castro inhabitants are believed to have been Celtic. Approximately half the pre-Latin toponyms of Gallaecia were Celtic.
Sometime in the first century AD the settlement was occupied by Roman settlers, but overall the visible impact of Roman occupiers is not strong. In the High Middle Ages,, a medieval chapel and graveyard were built on the acropolis.
Sarmento in the 1870s reconstructed a pair of dwellings on the site from his research.
The site sits on a small promontory called Monte de São Romão about 15 kilometres northwest of Guimarães. There four lines of walls in an oval shape 1–3 metres thick and less than 2 metres high. Its streets are arranged into a roughly grid pattern. The “urbanized” area of the settlement includes an acropolis surrounded by the first rampart in an elevated area of about 7 hectares. Around 100 residential compounds were found in this area, grouped into small blocks divided by several streets. Assuming around 6 people per family unit, a population of the acropolis of around 625 people has been estimated. decorative monolith of almost 3 square metres (32 sq ft), called the Pedra Formosa (the “handsome stone”) thought to have once formed part of a burial chamber.
his iron age settlement ascends a hillside surrounding the two main “streets”. There are lots of rock walls, many round “houses” and at the very top, two restored houses and a more modern chapel. 3 no reduction.
VIANA DO CASTELO
Forte de Santiago da Barra. This Vauban-inspired fort sits near the harbour.
Gil Eannes. This hospital ship was built in the Viana do Castelo shipyard in 1955 to support the Portuguese cod fishery off the coasts of Newfoundland and Greenland. She ceased that activity in 1984 and was left to rust away. In 1998, she was completely renovated and now serves as a ship museum with special attention to their medical facilities. 3E