Europe > Portugal > Northern Portugal > Porto > Articles > A Bridge Over Time

The cries of seabirds fill the air, as I look beyond the lighthouse to the Atlantic Ocean and wonder what it was like for mariners to set off into the great unknown.

For it was here in Porto in northern Portugal that Henry the Navigator was born in 1394. It was through the vision of this prince that the great age of discovery began, when he sent his captains to explore the hitherto uncharted coast of Africa.

Today he’s honoured by a monument in the city square. The arm of the statue points outwards to the world, a symbol both of the past courage of his explorers and of the city looking toward the future.

One of Europe’s oldest cities, Porto’s historic centre was classified as a World Heritage site in 1996. Walking through the historic riverfront area known as the Ribeira gives a sense of time standing still. The market square retains its medieval cobblestones, small shops selling local wares face the river, and men tend their boats as they have always done.

Moored by the bank on the opposite side of the river are the small boats called rabelos, which once carried the barrels of port wine down the river from the vineyards of the Douro Valley. This was often a very dangerous journey over rapids and many men died plying the trade. The rabelos now stand as a reminder that times have changed, while providing a postcard picture for eager tourists.

And what tourist would visit Porto without sampling the fortified wine that took its name from the city? For here on the river’s left bank is the Vila Nova de Gaia, where the port wine is blended and aged. Tasting sessions are available and purchases can be made at the various wine lodges, whose names and symbols provide a colourful advertisement on the row of signs along the riverbank.

The traders of Porto prospered, a fact that is evident in the neoclassical Palácio da Bolsa. Constructed as a stock exchange by the Commercial Association between 1842 and 1910, it dominates the city square. Its interior is impressive, featuring a mosaic floor inspired by Pompeii, walls where painted plaster has been made to look like wood paneling, bronze coats of arms and a Portraits Room with paintings of Portugal’s last six kings before the country became a republic in 1910.

But the richest room of all is the Arabian Room, formerly used for receptions for foreign kings. Built with fine touches of golden leaf, and complete with Arabic inscriptions, it was inspired by the Alhambra Palace in Granada.

Walking through the historic centre of Porto, visitors notice something unusual about the city’s architecture, something traditionally Portuguese: buildings covered in tiles. In a tradition which can be traced back to the Moorish presence during the Middle Ages, these vividly coloured “azulejos” or painted tiles decorate the facades of many public buildings including São Bento Railway Station where the walls of the entrance hall have historic scenes depicted, and the Sé Cathedral where they adorn the galleries of the Gothic cloister.

Heritage is intertwined with the church as in so much of Europe. Another significant church is the Igreja de São Francisco, in which the original Gothic structure’s austerity has gone and 370kg of gold covers the baroque carved woodwork. Perhaps one of Porto’s most notable landmarks is the Tower of Clerigos. Built between 1754 and 1763 and standing apart from the church, the 76 metre high structure’s narrow stone staircase has 225 steps.

“How many more?” I wondered, trudging upward. Though when I reached the top I realized that it had all been worthwhile, for there before me lay a vista of red rooftops, churches and of course the river, giving some sense of the city’s soul.

But Porto is not only about heritage. In 2001 it was one of the European Capitals of Culture. From the Soares dos Reis National Museum, with its 19th and 20th century Portuguese painting and sculpture, to the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art and the recently constructed Casa da Música or House of Music, Porto has much to offer.

Eduarda Pinto Leite, one of the people who worked on the 2001 Capital of Culture program, explained the metaphor of the “Bridges to the Future” which had been their central idea. That the three pillars of the metaphorical bridge were the past, Porto’s heritage, the present with its physical restoration work and its change in the way people think about cultural activities, and the future symbolized in part by the Casa da Música.

So as I walked the city’s streets in the fading light of the afternoon, I looked back at the Pont de Dom Luis I bridge which crosses the River Douro, bringing the two halves of the city together. And the factual things didn’t seem to matter, that it was built by the French engineer Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel in 1881-1885, or that it has one of the largest arches in Europe. For in my mind it had become an image. That metaphorical bridge, connecting Porto’s past, present and future.

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