Porto (dpa) – The port city of Porto, situated on the hills above the Douro River, lies very much in the shadow of Lisbon – but is now set to shake off this inferiority complex.
For the coming year it will be European Capital of Culture 2001, an honour it shares with Rotterdam. It hopes to welcome thousands of European visitors with dozens of exceptional exhibitions, concerts and festivals.
Porto is full of great contrasts. In the art nouveau Cafe Majestic in the Rua de Santa Catarina, with its Belle Epoche facade dating from 1921, well-to-do elderly ladies sip cimbalino coffees alongside younger business types doing deals on their laptops and mobile phones.
This scene is typical of Porto today. While the windswept, dilapidated facades of the old town still reflect the poverty of their inhabitants, a new, lively and loud Porto is emerging. This becomes clear before you even reach the city, on the 30-kilometre (19-mile) car drive from Francisco Sa Carneiro airport to the city centre. The industrial parks on both sides of the motorway are witness to the economic power of the region with 1.2 million inhabitants. “In Lisbon they live, but here we work,” the local like to say.
The name Porto comes from the Latin “Portus Cale” (quiet port). It became internationally known in the eighteenth century as a trading centre for port wines, produced in vineyards 100 kilometres (62 miles) up river. The best place for visitors to get a sense of this former glory is in the former stock exchange palace in the old town. The merchants who built the elegant Palacio de Bolsa in the nineteenth century decorated the rooms splendidly and expensively to demonstrate their wealth and power. Today the giant building is home to the Porto chamber of industry and commerce, and provides the backdrop for exhibitions, conferences and concerts.
The Saleo Arabe” (Arabian Hall) is particularly splendid. The Porto merchants wanted to recreate the lustre of the Alhambra in Granada. Artists worked for 18 years on this hall alone. The Palacio de Bolsa has now lost its true purpose. In 1992 the Porto stock exchange was merged with Lisbon stock exchange.
On the left bank of the Douro, opposite the centre of Porto, is the town of Vila Nova de Gaia. No trip to Porto would be complete without a tour of the port wine cellars here. Tours and wine tastings are held on weekdays. On the way, you cross Porto’s famous double bridge, the Ponte de Dom Luis I, a 68-metre high filigree iron construction, built in 1886 by a pupil of Gustave Eiffel.
At the end of the bridge, it is worth making a small detour to the terrace of the Nossa Senhora do Pilar church, which offers a panoramic view of Porto including the Romanesque-Baroque Se Cathedral, the neighbouring Bishop’s Palace, the Gothic S. Francisco Church dating from the fourteenth century, and the Clerigo Church and tower. This tower is 78 metres high and once served as orientation for sailors arriving at Porto.
Millions of litres of port wine lies maturing in the cool storage cellars lining the bank of the slow River Douro. Until 1963 the sought-after wine was shipped here from the vineyards up river in barrels on small flat boats. The last of these “barco rebelos” now decorate the port, moored in front of the cellars, and provide an atmospheric photo opportunity.
The European Cultural Capital 2001 title is not Porto’s first award. In 1997 the picturesque Ribeira old town was named a UNESCO world cultural heritage site. Most houses in this once run-down quarter, have been lovingly renovated. Today the chic restaurants, bars, cafes and discos in the narrow streets pulsate with life.
More than 60 theatrical, dance an musical events, exhibitions and street festivals are already scheduled for the coming months. Porto 2001 aims symbolically to build two bridges: a bridge to its own high-tech future, and a bridge to the other cultural capital this year, Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
But the organisers say, as well as attracting foreign visitors, it is just as important that they welcome local audiences to culture. For this reason one of the projects is Escolas Online (schools online), aiming to give as many youngsters as possible in Porto the chance to become familiar with the Internet.
Porto 2001 is a festival for visitors and locals alike. Many of the events will take place in the churches, on the streets, the squares, and in the parks. City planners and architects will meet to discuss the future of urban living. Street theatre by local schools and groups will bring the historic streets to life.
One of the highlights will be the traditional St. John’s Festival on June 23. Preparations and decorations begin weeks in advance and the street celebrations continue into the small hours.
