Porto or Oporto () is the
second-largest city in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, the capital of the
Porto District
The District of Porto ( pt, Distrito do Porto ) is located on the north-west coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Porto, the second largest city in the country. It is bordered by the Aveiro and Viseu districts to the south, Br ...
, and one of the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire
municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropolitan area, with an estimated population of just 231,800 people in a municipality with only 41.42 km
2.
Porto's metropolitan area has around 1.7 million people
(2021) in an area of ,
[Demographia: World Urban Areas]
March 2010 making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal. It is recognized as a
global city with a Gamma + rating from the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Located along the
Douro
The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...
River estuary in northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, and its core was proclaimed a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
by UNESCO in 1996, as "Historic Centre of Porto, Luiz I Bridge and Monastery of Serra do Pilar". The historic area is also a National Monument of Portugal.
The western part of its urban area extends to the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. Its settlement dates back many centuries, when it was an outpost of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
. Its combined
Celtic-
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
name,
Portus Cale
Portus Cale ( Latinised version for "Port of Cale", original Celtic name ''Callaici'', ''Cale'') was an ancient town and port in present-day northern Portugal, in the area of today's Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. The name of the town eventually inf ...
,
has been referred to as the origin of the name ''Portugal'', based on
transliteration
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...
and oral evolution from Latin. In Portuguese, the name of the city includes a
definite article
An article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech.
In English, both "the" and "a(n)" a ...
: '' o Porto'' ("the port" or "the harbor"), which is where its English name "Oporto" comes from.
Port wine
Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often ...
, one of Portugal's most famous exports, is named after Porto, since the metropolitan area, and in particular the
cellars of
Vila Nova de Gaia
Vila Nova de Gaia (; cel-x-proto, Cale), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a population ...
, were responsible for the packaging, transport, and export of
fortified wine.
In 2014 and 2017, Porto was elected ''The Best European Destination'' by the Best European Destinations Agency.
Porto is on
the Portuguese Way path of the
Camino de Santiago.
History
Early history
Proto-Celtic
Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celti ...
and
Celtic people were among the first known inhabitants of the area. Ruins of that period have been discovered in several areas. Archaeological findings reveal that there were also human settlements at the mouth of the Douro River as early as 8th century BC, which hints to a
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
n trading settlement there.
During the
Roman occupation of the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
, the city developed as an important commercial port, primarily in the trade between ''Olissipona'' (the modern
Lisbon) and ''Bracara Augusta'' (the modern
Braga
Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...
).
Porto was also important during the
Suebian
The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...
and
Visigothic times, and a centre for the expansion of Christianity during that period.
Porto fell under the control of the Moors during the
invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711.
In 868,
Vímara Peres
Vímara PeresVímara is an originally Visigothic name of Germanic origin (cognate with Weimar or Guimar) and Peres is a patronymic, meaning son of Pedro or Peter. The name can then be equated to Weimar/Guimar Peterson. (died in Galicia, 873) w ...
, an Asturian
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
from
Gallaecia
Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal, Asturias and León (province), Leon and the lat ...
, and a vassal of the King of
Asturias
Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain.
It is coextensiv ...
,
Léon and
Galicia,
Alfonso III, was sent to
reconquer and secure the lands back into Christian hands. This included the area from the
Minho to the
Douro River
The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...
: the settlement of ''
Portus Cale
Portus Cale ( Latinised version for "Port of Cale", original Celtic name ''Callaici'', ''Cale'') was an ancient town and port in present-day northern Portugal, in the area of today's Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. The name of the town eventually inf ...
'' and the area that is known as
Vila Nova de Gaia
Vila Nova de Gaia (; cel-x-proto, Cale), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a population ...
. Portus Cale, later referred to as
Portucale, was the origin for the modern name of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
.
In 868,
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
Vímara Peres established the
County of Portugal
The County of Portugal ( pt, Condado de Portugal, Condado Portucalense, Condado de Portucale; in documents of the period the name used was Portugalia) refers to two successive medieval counties in the region around Braga and Porto, today corres ...
, or ( pt, Condado de Portucale), usually known as ''Condado Portucalense'' after reconquering the region north of Douro.
In 1387, Porto was the site of the marriage of
John I of Portugal and
Philippa of Lancaster
Philippa of Lancaster ( pt, Filipa ; 31 March 1360 – 19 July 1415) was Queen of Portugal from 1387 until 1415 by marriage to King John I. Born into the royal family of England, her marriage secured the Treaty of Windsor and produced severa ...
, daughter of
John of Gaunt; this symbolized a long-standing
military alliance
A military alliance is a formal agreement between nations concerning national security. Nations in a military alliance agree to active participation and contribution to the defense of others in the alliance in the event of a crisis. (Online) ...
between Portugal and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The Portuguese-English alliance (see the
Treaty of Windsor) is the world's oldest recorded military alliance.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, Porto's shipyards contributed to the development of Portuguese shipbuilding. Also from the port of Porto, in 1415, Prince
Henry the Navigator (son of
John I of Portugal) embarked on the
conquest of the Moorish port of Ceuta, in northern
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
.
This expedition by the king and his fleet, which included Prince Henry, was followed by navigation and exploration along the western coast of Africa, initiating the Portuguese
Age of Discovery. The nickname given to the people of Porto began in those days; Portuenses are to this day, colloquially, referred to as ''tripeiros'' (''tripe peoples''), referring to this period of history, when higher-quality cuts of meat were shipped from Porto with their sailors, while off-cuts and by-products, such as
tripe, were left behind for the citizens of Porto;
tripe remains a culturally important dish in modern-day Porto.
18th century
By the 13th century, the wine produced in the
Douro valley was already transported to Porto in ''barcos rabelos'' (flat sailing vessels). In 1703, the
Methuen Treaty
The Methuen Treaty was a military and commercial treaty between England and Portugal that was signed in 1703 as part of the War of the Spanish Succession.
The treaty stipulated that no tax higher than the tax charged for an equal amount of Frenc ...
established the trade relations between Portugal and England. In 1717, the first English trading post was established in Porto. The production of
port wine
Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often ...
then gradually passed into the hands of a few English firms. To counter this dominance, Prime Minister
Marquis of Pombal
Count of Oeiras () was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated July 15, 1759, by King Joseph I of Portugal, and granted to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, head of the Portuguese government.
Later, through another roy ...
established a Portuguese firm receiving the monopoly of the wines from the Douro valley. He demarcated the region for the production of port, to ensure the wine's quality; this was the first attempt to control wine quality and production in Europe. The small winegrowers revolted against his strict policies on
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession and absolution, the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms, finalizing one's Lenten ...
, burning down the buildings of this firm. The revolt was called ''Revolta dos Borrachos'' (revolt of the drunkards).
Between 1732 and 1763, Italian architect
Nicolau Nasoni designed a
baroque church with a tower that became its architectural and visual icon: the
Torre dos Clérigos (English: Clerics' Tower).
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became an important industrial centre and its size and population increased.
19th century
The invasion of the
Napoleonic
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
troops in Portugal under Marshal
Soult
Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia, (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and often called Marshal Soult. Soult was one of only six officers in Frenc ...
brought war to the city of Porto. On 29 March 1809, as the population fled from the
advancing French troops[Smith][Glover] and tried to cross the river Douro over the ''Ponte das Barcas'' (a pontoon bridge), the bridge collapsed under the weight. This event is still remembered by a plate at the
Ponte D. Luis I. The
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...
was
rooted out of Porto by
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, when his
Anglo-Portuguese Army crossed the Douro River from the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar (a former convent) in a brilliant daylight ''
coup de main
A ''coup de main'' (; plural: ''coups de main'', French for blow with the hand) is a swift attack that relies on speed and surprise to accomplish its objectives in a single blow.
Definition
The United States Department of Defense defines it as ...
'', using wine barges to transport the troops, outflanking the French Army.
On 24 August 1820, a
liberal revolution occurred, quickly spreading without resistance to the rest of the country. It began with a military insurrection in the city of Porto. In 1822, a liberal constitution was accepted, partly through the efforts of the liberal assembly of Porto (Junta do Porto). When
Miguel I of Portugal took the Portuguese throne in 1828, he rejected this constitution and reigned as an antiliberal, absolutist monarch. A
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
was then fought from 1828 to 1834 between those supporting Constitutionalism, and those opposed to this change, keen on near-absolutism and led by D. Miguel. Porto rebelled again and had to undergo a
siege of eighteen months between 1832 and 1833 by the
absolutist army. Porto is also called "Cidade Invicta" (English: Unvanquished City) after successfully resisting the
Miguelist
In the history of Portugal, a Miguelist (in Portuguese ''Miguelista'') was a supporter of the legitimacy of the king Miguel I of Portugal. The name is also given to those who supported absolutism as form of government, in opposition to the libe ...
siege. After
the abdication of King Miguel, the liberal constitution was re-established.
Known as the city of bridges, Porto built its first permanent bridge, the ''Ponte das Barcas'' (a
pontoon bridge), in 1806. Three years later, it collapsed under the weight of thousands of fugitives from the French invasions during the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
, causing thousands of deaths. It was replaced by the
Ponte D. Maria II, popularised under the name ''Ponte Pênsil'' (
suspended bridge) and built between 1841 and 1843; only its supporting pylons have remained. The ''
Ponte D. Maria'', a railway bridge, was inaugurated on 4 November of 1877; it was considered a feat of
wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...
engineering and was designed by
Gustave Eiffel, notable for
his Parisian tower. The later
Ponte Dom Luís I replaced the aforementioned Ponte Pênsil. This last bridge was made by Teophile Seyrig, a former partner of Eiffel. Seyrig won a governmental competition that took place in 1879. Building began in 1881 and the bridge was opened to the public on 31 October 1886.
A higher-learning institution in nautical sciences (Aula de Náutica, 1762) and a
stock exchange (Bolsa do Porto, 1834 – 1910) were established in the city, but were discontinued later.
Unrest by Republicans led to the first revolt against the monarchy in Porto on 31 January 1891. This resulted ultimately in the overthrow of the monarchy and proclamation of the republic by the
5 October 1910 revolution.
20th century
On 19 January 1919, forces favourable to the restoration of the monarchy launched a
counter-revolution
A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...
in Porto known as
Monarchy of the North. During this time, Porto was the capital of the restored kingdom, as the movement was contained to the north. The monarchy was deposed less than a month later and no other monarchist revolution in Portugal happened again.
The historic centre of Porto was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. The World Heritage Site is defined in two concentric zones; the "Protected area", and within it the "Classified area". The Classified area comprises the medieval borough located inside the 14th-century Romanesque wall.
Geography
In 1996,
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
recognised Porto's historic centre as a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
Among the architectural highlights of the city,
Porto Cathedral is the oldest surviving structure, together with the small
romanesque Church of Cedofeita
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service
A church service (or a service of worship) is a forma ...
, the
gothic Igreja de São Francisco (Church of
Saint Francis), the remnants of the
city walls and a few 15th-century houses. The
baroque style is well represented in the city in the elaborate gilt work
interior decoration
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordin ...
of the churches of St. Francis (''São Francisco'') and St. Claire (''Santa Clara''), the churches of Mercy (''Misericórdia'') and of the Clerics (''
Clérigos''), the
Episcopal Palace of Porto, and others. The
neoclassicism and
romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
of the 19th and 20th centuries also added interesting monuments to the landscape of the city, like the magnificent Stock Exchange Palace (''
Palácio da Bolsa''), the Hospital of
Saint Anthony, the Municipality, the buildings in the
Liberdade Square and the ''Avenida dos Aliados'', the tile-adorned
São Bento railway station and the gardens of the
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
(''Palácio de Cristal''). A guided visit to the
Palácio da Bolsa, and in particular, the Arab Room is a major
tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural ...
.
Many of the city's oldest houses are at risk of collapsing. The population in Porto municipality dropped by nearly 100,000 since the 1980s, but the number of permanent residents in the outskirts and satellite towns has grown strongly.
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 7 civil parishes (''
freguesias''):
*
Aldoar, Foz do Douro e Nevogilde
*
Bonfim
*
Campanhã
*
Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória
Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória is a civil parish in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the former parishes Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso
Santo Ildefonso () is a former civi ...
*
Lordelo do Ouro e Massarelos
*
Paranhos
*
Ramalde
Ramalde () is a Portuguese civil parish of the municipality of Porto. The population in 2011 was 38,012,
Climate
Porto features a
warm-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Csb''), with influences of an
oceanic climate (''Cfb''), like northern Spain. As a result, its climate shares many characteristics with the warm, dry Mediterranean climates of southern Europe and the wet marine west coast climates of the North Atlantic, providing it warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Cool and rainy days can, occasionally, interrupt the
dry season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...
. These occasional summer rainy periods may last a few days and are characterised by showers and cool temperatures around in the afternoon. The annual precipitation is high and concentrated in the winter months, making Porto one of the wettest major cities of Europe. However, long periods with warmer temperatures and sunny days are frequent even during the rainiest months.
Summers are typically sunny, with average temperatures between , but can rise to as high as during occasional heat waves. During such heatwaves, the
humidity remains quite low. Nearby beaches are often windy and usually cooler than the urban areas. Summer average temperatures are a few degrees cooler than those expected in more continentally Mediterranean-influenced Portuguese cities because of the oceanic influence.
Winter temperatures typically range between early in the morning and in the afternoon, but rarely drop below at night. The weather is often rainy for long stretches, although prolonged sunny periods do occur.
Politics and government
Local election results 1976–2021
Active political parties established in Porto
The Portuguese party ''
Iniciativa Liberal
The Liberal Initiative ( pt, Iniciativa Liberal, , IL) is a liberalism, liberal list of political parties in Portugal, political party in Portugal currently led by João Cotrim de Figueiredo. In 2019, its debut year at the Portuguese legislative ...
'' (IL), founded and headquartered in Porto, is the only Portuguese party represented in
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
which is headquartered out of Lisbon area.
Demographics
Breaking down the population further shows that there is a higher percentage of women than men. Estimates from 2016 show that the population is 55% female, compared to 45% male.
The largest age group, according to 2016 estimates, is 60 to 69, followed by residents in the 50 to 59 demographic. The majority 93.7% of residents were born in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. The city also has residents that originally were born in
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
, Brazil,
Cape Verde, and countries across Europe. Porto has seen its population climb over the years and with a thriving economy and a growing tourism industry, the population is only expected to continue to increase in the upcoming years.
Economy
Porto plus the
conurbation to which it belongs and has Porto municipality as its central core forming the nucleus of the conurbation, is a major industrial and financial center of both Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula. As the most important city in the heavily industrialized northwest, many of the largest Portuguese corporations from diverse
economic sectors
One classical breakdown of economic activity distinguishes three sectors:
* Primary: involves the retrieval and production of raw-material commodities, such as corn, coal, wood or iron. Miners, farmers and fishermen are all workers in the pr ...
, like
Altri
Altri SGPS SA is a Portuguese industrial conglomerate headquartered in Porto. The group's main companies operate in wood pulp production, cultivation of forests for the timber and paper industry and co-generation of energy, including energy produc ...
,
Ambar,
Amorim,
Bial,
BPI,
Cerealis,
CIN,
Cofina
The Puerto Rico Urgent Interest Fund Corporation (also known as the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corporation) —Spanish: ''Corporación del Fondo de Interés Apremiante'' (COFINA)— is a government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico ...
,
EFACEC
EFACEC Power Solutions SGPS, S.A. is a Portuguese energy, engineering and mobility company, comprising several subsidiaries in different international markets. Efacec group is one of the largest manufacturers in the fast-charging infrastructure ...
,
Frulact,
Lactogal,
Millennium bcp,
Porto Editora
Porto Editora is the largest Portuguese publisher with a consolidated turnover of more than 90M € in 2010. It is
the leading educational publisher in PortugalHerbert R. Lottman, "Publishing in Portugal", ''Publishers Weekly'', Volume 213, Issue ...
,
RAR,
Sonae
Sonae is a multinational business group based in Maia, Porto District, Portugal. It is present in 90 countries, operating in several sectors, including retail, financial services, shopping centres management, software and information systems, ...
,
Sonae Indústria, and
Super Bock Group, are headquartered in the
Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto, most notably, in the core municipalities of
Maia,
Matosinhos, Porto, and
Vila Nova de Gaia
Vila Nova de Gaia (; cel-x-proto, Cale), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a population ...
.
The city's former
stock exchange (
Bolsa do Porto) was transformed into the largest
derivatives exchange
A futures exchange or futures market is a central financial exchange where people can trade standardized futures contracts defined by the exchange. Futures contracts are derivatives contracts to buy or sell specific quantities of a commodity or f ...
of Portugal, and merged with
Lisbon Stock Exchange to create the
Bolsa de Valores de Lisboa e Porto, which eventually merged with
Euronext
Euronext N.V. (short for European New Exchange Technology) is a pan-European bourse that offers various trading and post-trade services.
Traded assets include regulated equities, exchange-traded funds (ETF), warrants and certificates, bonds, ...
, together with Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris stock and
futures exchanges. The building formerly hosting the stock exchange is currently one of the city's touristic attractions, with the Salão Árabe (Arab Room in English) being its major highlight. The
Banco Português de Fomento (BPF), a Portuguese state-owned development bank established in 2020, is headquartered in Porto.
Porto hosts a popular Portuguese newspaper, ''
Jornal de Notícias''. The building where its offices are located (which has the same name as the newspaper) was at a time one of the tallest in the city (it has been superseded by a number of modern buildings which have been built since the 1990s).
Porto Editora
Porto Editora is the largest Portuguese publisher with a consolidated turnover of more than 90M € in 2010. It is
the leading educational publisher in PortugalHerbert R. Lottman, "Publishing in Portugal", ''Publishers Weekly'', Volume 213, Issue ...
, one of the biggest Portuguese publishers, is also located in Porto. Its dictionaries are among the most popular references used in the country, and the translations are very popular as well.
The economic relations between the city of Porto and the Upper
Douro
The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...
River have been documented since the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. However, they were greatly deepened in the modern ages. Indeed,
sumac
Sumac ( or ), also spelled sumach, is any of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' and related genera in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae). Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, including Eas ...
h, dry fruits and
nuts and the Douro
olive oils sustained prosperous exchanges between the region and Porto. From the riverside quays at the river mouth, these products were exported to other markets of the
Old and
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
. However, the greatest lever to interregional trade relations resulted from the commercial dynamics of the
Port wine
Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often ...
(''Vinho do Porto'') agro-industry. It decidedly bolstered the complementary relationship between the large coastal urban centre, endowed with open doors to the sea, and a region with significant agricultural potential, especially in terms of the production of extremely high quality
fortified wines, known by the world-famous label ''Port''. The development of Porto was also closely connected with the left margin of River Douro in
Vila Nova de Gaia
Vila Nova de Gaia (; cel-x-proto, Cale), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a population ...
, where is located the amphitheatre-shaped slope with the Port wine cellars.
The city is very much the gateway to Portugal's northern region as well as the northern and western areas of Spain. Within a two-hour drive of Porto's airport there are four Unesco World Heritage sites and popular Spanish tourist hotspots such as Santiago de Compostela.
In a study concerning
competitiveness
In economics, competition is a scenario where different economic firmsThis article follows the general economic convention of referring to all actors as firms; examples in include individuals and brands or divisions within the same (legal) firm ...
of the 18 Portuguese district capitals, Porto was the worst-ranked. The study was made by
Minho University economics researchers and was published in
Público newspaper on 30 September 2006. The best-ranked cities in the study were
Évora
Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District.
Due to its well-preserved old ...
, Lisbon and
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...
. Nevertheless, the validity of this study was questioned by some Porto notable figures (such as local politicians and businesspersons) who argued that the city proper does not function independently but in conurbation with other municipalities. A 2007 ranking published in ''
Expresso'' ranked Porto as the third best city to live in Portugal – tied with
Évora
Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District.
Due to its well-preserved old ...
and below
Guimarães and
Lisbon.
The Porto metropolitan area had a
GDP amounting to $43.0 billion, and $21,674 per capita.
Tourism
Over the last few years, Porto has experienced significant tourism increases, which may be partly linked to the
Ryanair hub at Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport. Porto won the European Best Destination 2012, 2014 and 2017 awards.
The city received 2.8 million overnight visitors and 1.4 million day trippers between January and November 2017, with 73% from other countries. Tourism revenue has been increasing by over 11%, according to a 2018 report.
According to a February 2019 report, over 10% of economic activity in Porto is generated by tourism. The hotel occupancy rate in 2017 was 77%. A scholarly study published in June 2019 stated that "Porto is one of the fastest-growing European tourist destinations that has experienced
exponential growth in the demand for city-break tourists".
Transport
Roads and bridges
The road system capacity is augmented by the ''Via de Cintura Interna'' or A20, an internal highway connected to several motorways and city exits, complementing the ''Circunvalação'' 4-lane peripheric road, which borders the north of the city and connects the eastern side of the city to the Atlantic shore. The city is connected to Valença (
Viana do Castelo) by highway A28, to Estarreja (
Aveiro) by the A29, to
Lisbon by the A1, to
Bragança by the A4 and to
Braga
Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...
by the A3. There is also an outer-ring road, the A41, that connects all the main cities around Porto, linking the city to other major metropolitan highways such as the A7, A11, A42, A43 and A44. Since 2011, a new highway, the A32, connects the metropolitan area to
São João da Madeira and
Oliveira de Azeméis.
The
Dom Luís I Bridge
The Dom Luís I Bridge ( pt, Ponte de Dom Luís I), or Luís I Bridge, is a double-deck metal arch bridge that spans the River Douro between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal. At its construction, its span was the longest o ...
(Ponte de Dom Luís I) is a double-deck metal arch bridge that spans the River Douro between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. Built in 1886, its 172 metres (564 ft) span was then the longest of its type in the world. The top-level is used for the Porto Metro trains, with an option for pedestrians; the lower level carries traffic and pedestrians.
During the 20th century, major bridges were built: ''
Arrábida Bridge'', which at its opening had the biggest concrete supporting arch in the world, and connects the north and south shores of the Douro on the west side of the city, ''
S. João'', to replace ''D. Maria Pia'' and ''
Freixo'', a highway bridge on the east side of the city. The newest bridge is
Infante Dom Henrique Bridge
The Infante Dom Henrique Bridge ( pt, Ponte Infante Dom Henrique), commonly known as Infante Bridge ( pt, Ponte do Infante), is a road bridge across the Douro River in Metropolitan Area of Porto, Greater Porto, Portugal. The bridge is upriver fro ...
, finished in 2003. Two more bridges are said to be under designing stages and due to be built in the next 10 years, one on the Campo Alegre area, nearby the Faculty of Humanities and the Arts, and another one in the area known as the Massarelos valley.
Porto is often referred to as ''Cidade das Pontes'' (City of the Bridges), besides its more traditional nicknames of "Cidade Invicta" (Unconquered/ Invincible City) and "Capital do Norte" (Capital of the North).
Cruising
In July 2015 a new
cruise terminal was opened at the port of Leixões, which is north of the city in
Matosinhos.
Airports
Porto is served by
Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport which is located in Pedras Rubras, Moreira da Maia civil parish of the neighbouring
Municipality of Maia, some to the north-west of the city centre. The airport underwent a massive programme of refurbishment due to the
Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...
football championships being partly hosted in the city. It is connected to central Porto by metro’s line E.
Public transport
Railways
Porto's main railway station is
Campanhã railway station, located in the eastern part of the city and connected to the lines of Douro (Peso da Régua/Tua/Pocinho), Minho (Barcelos/Viana do Castelo/Valença) and centre of Portugal (on the main line to
Aveiro,
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...
and
Lisbon).
From Campanhã station, both
light rail and
suburban rail services connect to the city center. The main
central station
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
is
São Bento Station, which is itself a notable landmark in the heart of Porto. This station was built between 1900 and 1916, based on plans by architect José Marques da Silva. The large panels of azulejo tile were designed by Jorge Colaço; the murals represent moments in the country's history and rural scenes showing the people of various regions.
Porto is connected with
Lisbon via high-speed trains, ''
Alfa Pendular
Alfa Pendular is the name of the flagship Pendolino high-speed tilting train of Portuguese state railway company CP. It connects the cities of Guimarães, Braga, Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, Santarém, Lisbon, Albufeira and Faro, among others at spe ...
'', that cover the distance in 2h 42min. The intercities take slightly more than 3 hours to cover the same distance. In addition, Porto is connected to the Spanish city of
Vigo with the
Celta train
The Celta train is a train connection from the Portuguese railway operator Comboios de Portugal and the Spanish railway operator Renfe Operadora between Campanhã railway station in Porto (Portugal) and Vigo-Guixar railway station in Vigo (Spai ...
, running twice every day, a 2h 20 min trip.
Light rail
Currently, the major network is the
Porto Metro
The Porto Metro ( pt, Metro do Porto), part of the public transport (mass transit) system of Porto, Portugal, is a light rail network that runs underground in central Porto and above ground into the city's suburbs. ''Metro do Porto S.A.'' was f ...
, a
light rail system. Consequently, the Infante bridge was built for urban traffic, replacing the Dom Luís I, which was dedicated to the light rail on the second and higher of the bridge's two levels. Six lines are open: lines A (blue), B (red), C (green) and E (purple) all begin at
Estádio do Dragão (home to
FC Porto) and terminate at Senhor de Matosinhos,
Póvoa de Varzim (via
Vila do Conde
Vila do Conde (, ; "the Count's Town") is a municipality in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 79,533, in an area of 149.03 km². The urbanized area of Vila do Conde, which includes the parishes of Vila do Conde, Azurar ...
),
ISMAI (via Maia) and Francisco Sá Carneiro airport respectively. Line D (yellow) currently runs from Hospital S. João in the north to Santo Ovídio on the southern side of the Douro river. Line F (orange), from Senhora da Hora (Matosinhos) to Fânzeres (Gondomar). The lines intersect at the central
Trindade station. Currently, the whole network spans using 68 stations, thus being the biggest
urban rail transit system in the country.
Buses
The city has an extensive
bus network run by the
STCP (Sociedade dos Transportes Colectivos do Porto, or Porto
Public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...
Society) which also operates lines in the neighbouring cities of
Gaia, Maia, Matosinhos,
Gondomar and Valongo. Other smaller companies connect such towns as
Paços de Ferreira and
Santo Tirso
Santo Tirso () is a city and municipality located in the north of Porto Metropolitan Area, 25 km from central Porto, Portugal. In the region, the Ave Valley, there is a large center of textile industry. The population in 2011 was 71,530, in ...
to the town center. In the past, the city also had
trolleybus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
es. A bus journey is 2.00 €, which must be paid in cash.
Trams
A
tram (streetcar) network, of which only three lines remain one of them being a tourist line on the shores of the Douro, saw its construction begin on 12 September 1895, therefore being the first in the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
. The lines in operation all use vintage tramcars, so the service has become a
heritage tramway. STCP also operates these routes as well as a
tram museum. The first line of the area's modern-tram, or
light rail system, named ''
Metro do Porto'', opened for revenue service in January 2003 (after a brief period of
free, introductory service in December 2002).
Porto public transportation statistics
The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Porto, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 47 minutes. About 6.5% of public transit riders ride for more than two hours every day. The average time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 12 minutes, while 17.4% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people ride in a single trip with public transit is 6 km, while 5% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.
Culture
In 2001, Porto shared the designation
European Culture Capital with
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
. In the scope of these events, the construction of the major concert hall space
Casa da Música
The Casa da Música is a concert hall in Porto, Portugal. It was designed by architect Rem Koolhaas and opened in 2005.
Designed to mark the festive year of 2001 in which the city of Porto was designated European Capital of Culture, it was the ...
, designed by the Dutch architect
Rem Koolhaas, was initiated and finished in 2005.
The first Portuguese moving pictures were taken in Porto by Aurélio da Paz dos Reis and shown there on 12 November 1896 in the Teatro do Príncipe Real do Porto, less than a year after the first public presentation by
Auguste and Louis Lumière. The country's first
movie studios Invicta Filmes was also erected in Porto in 1917 and was open from 1918 to 1927 in the area of Carvalhido.
Manoel de Oliveira, a Portuguese film director and the oldest director in the world to be active until his death in 2015, was from Porto.
Fantasporto is an international film festival organized in Porto every year. The
DCEU
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that ap ...
film ''
The Suicide Squad'' (2021) written and directed by
James Gunn
James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1997). He then began working as a directo ...
based on a
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...
story, shows the city twice in the movie, in which shows us
Daniela Melchior
Daniela Melchior ((); born November 1, 1996) is a Portuguese actress. After beginning her career in her home country, she garnered worldwide attention with her English-language debut as Ratcatcher 2 in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film '' Th ...
a Portuguese actress, who portrays
Ratcatcher 2 in which the character is the heart of the film, a
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
version of
Ratcatcher.
Many renowned
Portuguese music artists and cult bands such as
GNR,
Rui Veloso,
Sérgio Godinho,
Clã
Clã is a Portuguese pop rock band of a mixed nature in terms of style, ranging from moments of pure balladry, through jazzy details, to enthusiastic pop songs.
Biography
The band was formed in November 1992 in the city of Porto, consisting of ...
,
Pluto,
Azeitonas and
Ornatos Violeta
Ornatos Violeta are a Portuguese rock band from Porto. The band, often referred to simply as Ornatos, consists of vocalist Manel Cruz, bassist Nuno Prata, guitarist Peixe and drummer Kinörm, with Elísio Donas at the keyboard. Their main period ...
are from the city or its metropolitan area.
Porto has several museums, concert halls, theaters, cinemas,
art galleries
An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...
, libraries and bookshops. The best-known museums of Porto are the
National Museum Soares dos Reis (''Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis''), which is dedicated especially to the Portuguese
artistic movements
An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defi ...
from the 16th to the 20th century, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of the
Serralves Foundation
Serralves is a cultural institution located in Porto, Portugal. It includes a Contemporary Art Museum, a Park, and a Villa, each one an example of contemporary architecture, Modernism, and Art Deco architecture. The Museum, designed by Álvar ...
(''Museu de Arte Contemporânea'').
The city has concert halls such as the
Coliseu do Porto
The Coliseum of Porto ( pt, Coliseu do Porto) is a Portuguese theatre and concert venue in the municipality of Porto, in northern Portugal, with a capacity for a standing audience of 4000. A leading venue for music and cultural events in Porto, t ...
by the Portuguese architect Cassiano Branco, an example of the Portuguese
decorative arts
]
The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...
. Other notable venues include the historical
São João National Theatre, the ''Rivoli'' theatre, the ''
Batalha cinema'' and ''
Casa da Música
The Casa da Música is a concert hall in Porto, Portugal. It was designed by architect Rem Koolhaas and opened in 2005.
Designed to mark the festive year of 2001 in which the city of Porto was designated European Capital of Culture, it was the ...
'', inaugurated in 2005. The city has the
Lello Bookshop, which is frequently rated among the top bookstores in the world.
Porto houses the largest synagogue in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the largest in Europe –
Kadoorie Synagogue, inaugurated in 1938.
Entertainment
Porto's most popular event is St. John (
São João Festival) on the night of 23–24 June. In this season it's a tradition to have a vase with bush basil decorated with a small poem. During the dinner of the great day, people usually eat sardines and boiled potatoes together with
red wine.
Another major event is
Queima das Fitas, which starts on the first Sunday of May and ends on the second Sunday of the month. Basically, before the beginning of the
study period preceding the school year's last exams,
academia
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...
tries to have as much fun as possible. The week has 12 major events, starting with the Monumental Serenata on Sunday, and reaching its peak with the Cortejo Académico on Tuesday, when about 50,000 students of the city's higher education institutions march through the downtown streets till they reach the city hall. During every night of the week, a series of concerts takes place on the Queimódromo, next to the city's park, where it is also a tradition for the students in their second-to-last year to erect small tents where
alcohol is sold to finance the trip that takes place during the last year of their course of study; an average of 50,000 students attend these events.
Porto was considered the fourth-best value destination for 2012, by Lonely Planet.
Arts
Porto was the birthplace in 1856 of
Susanna Roope Dockery, an Anglo-Portuguese watercolour painter who produced many paintings of the city and the people and landscape of the surrounding rural areas. An Englishman,
Frederick William Flower, moved to Porto in 1834 at the age of 19 to work in the wine trade and subsequently became a pioneer of photography in Portugal. Like Dockery, he drew his inspiration from the city, the Douro river and the rural areas.
In 2005, the municipality funded a
public sculpture
Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically access ...
to be built in the Waterfront Plaza of
Matosinhos. The resulting sculpture is entitled ''
She Changes'' by American artist,
Janet Echelman, and spans the height of 50 × 150 × 150 metres.
Architecture
Due to its long history, the city of Porto carries immense architectural patrimony. From the
Romanesque Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
to the Social Housing projects developed through the late 20th century, much could be said surrounding architecture.
Porto is home to the
Porto School of Architecture, one of the most prestigious architecture schools in Europe and the world. It is also home to two earners of the
Pritzker Architecture Prize (two former students of the aforementioned
school
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...
):
Álvaro Siza Vieira
Álvaro Joaquim de Melo Siza Vieira (born 25 June 1933) is a Portuguese architect, and architectural educator. He is internationally known as Álvaro Siza () and in Portugal as Siza Vieira ().
Early life and education
Siza was born in Matosi ...
and
Eduardo Souto de Moura.
This historic area includes the cathedral with its Romanesque choir, the neoclassical Stock Exchange and the Manueline-style Church of Santa Clara. The entire historic centre has been a National Monument since 2001 under Law No. 107/2001. The "Historic Centre of Porto, Luiz I Bridge and Monastery of Serra do Pilar" is a Unesco World Heritage site.
Gastronomy
Porto is home to a number of dishes from traditional
Portuguese cuisine. A typical dish from this city is ''
Tripas à Moda do Porto
Tripas à moda do Porto or dobrada à moda do Porto in Portuguese cuisine is a dish of beef stomach made with tripe with white beans, carrots and rice. It is considered the traditional dish of the city of Porto, in Portugal, and widely known acros ...
'' (
Tripe Porto style). ''
Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá
Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá is a casserole of bacalhau, potatoes, eggs, olives, olive oil, and onion. It is a specialty of the northern Portuguese city of Porto.
Origin of the name
Gomes de Sá was the son of a rich 19th century merchant (apparentl ...
'' (cod in the style of Gomes de Sá) is another typical
codfish dish born in Porto and popular in Portugal.
The ''
Francesinha'' is the most popular native snack food in Porto. It is a kind of sandwich with several types of meat covered with cheese and a special sauce made with beer and other ingredients.
Rojões (fried pork meat) and
sarrabulho (pig blood-based dish) are also typical dishes of
Norte Region which are very popular in the regional capital, the city of Porto. Like in almost all coastal areas of the Portuguese littoral with wide availability of fresh fish,
sardinha assada
Sardines ("pilchards") are a nutrient-rich, small, oily fish widely consumed by humans and as forage fish by larger fish species, seabirds and marine mammals. Sardines are a source of omega-3 fatty acids. Sardines are often served in cans, but ca ...
(grilled sardine) is also an usual, classic main dish.
Port wine
Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often ...
, an internationally renowned wine, is widely accepted as the city's
dessert wine
Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert.
There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal ...
, especially as the wine is made along the
Douro
The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...
River, which runs through the city.
Education
The city has a large number of public and private
elementary and secondary schools, as well as kindergartens and nurseries. The oldest and largest international school located in Porto is the
Oporto British School, established in 1894. There are more international schools in the city, such as the
French School, the
Deutsche Schule zu Porto, and the
Oporto International School, which were created in the 20th century.
Higher education
Porto has several institutions of higher education, the largest one being the state-managed
University of Porto (''Universidade do Porto''), which is the second largest Portuguese university, after the
University of Lisbon
The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; pt, Universidade de Lisboa, ) is a public research university in Lisbon, and the largest university in Portugal. It was founded in 2013, from the merger of two previous public universities located in Lisbon, th ...
, with approximately 28,000 students and considered one of the 100 best Universities in Europe. There is also a state-managed
polytechnic
Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences.
Polytechnic may also refer to:
Educatio ...
institute, the
Instituto Politécnico do Porto (a group of technical colleges), and private institutions like the
Lusíada University of Porto,
Universidade Fernando Pessoa
Fernando Pessoa University (UFP; Portuguese: ''Universidade Fernando Pessoa'') is a private university located in Porto and Ponte de Lima, Portugal. It was founded in 1996 and named after Fernando Pessoa, a famous Portuguese writer and poet.
Co ...
(UFP), the Porto's Higher Education School of Arts (''ESAP- Escola Superior Artística do Porto'') and a
Vatican state university, the
Portuguese Catholic University in Porto (''Universidade Católica Portuguesa – Porto'') and the Portucalense University in Porto (''Universidade Portucalense – Infante D. Henrique''). Due to the recognition, potential for employment and higher revenue, there are many students from the entire country, particularly from the
north of Portugal, attending a college or university in Porto.
For foreigners wishing to study Portuguese in the city there are a number of options. As the most popular city in Portugal for
ERASMUS
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...
students, most universities have facilities to assist foreigners in learning the language. There are also several private language learning institutions in the city.
Sport
Porto, in addition to football stadia since football is by far the most popular sport in Porto and across the entire country, is home to many athletic sports arenas, most notably the city-owned
Super Bock Arena
The Super Bock Arena (Pavilhão Rosa Mota) is a cultural and sports arena in Porto, Portugal.
History
The pavilion opened in 1954. It was previously known as Pavilhão dos Desportos. In 1991, it was renamed after Portuguese, European, World and ...
(formerly Pavilhão Rosa Mota), swimming pools in the area of ''Constituição'' (between the ''Marquês'' and ''Boavista''), and other minor arenas, such as the ''Pavilhão do Académico'', as well as to other sports fields. These sports arenas, swimming pools and sports fields are used for the practice of sports, including varsity and competitive professional sports, in a diversity of sport disciplines ranging from handball, basketball, futsal and field hockey to rink hockey, volleyball, water polo and rugby.
Porto is home to northern Portugal's only
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
club, the
Oporto Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club
The Oporto Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club is a multi-sports and social club located on Campo Alegre in Porto, Portugal. It was founded in 1855 by the British people working in Porto. Initially founded as Oporto Cricket Club, it is the oldest crick ...
. Annually, for more than 100 years, a match (the
Kendall Cup) has been played between the Porto Club and the Casuals Club of
Lisbon, in addition to regular games against touring teams (mainly from England). The club's pitch is located off the ''Rua Campo Alegre''.
In 1958 and 1960, Porto's streets hosted the Formula One
Portuguese Grand Prix on the
Boavista street circuit, which are reenacted annually, in addition to a
World Touring Car Championship
The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sin ...
race.
Every year in October the
Porto Marathon
The Porto Marathon is an annual marathon race in the city of Porto, Portugal, held in October or November, since 2004.
Along with the marathon, several races of shorter distances are arranged as well. The marathon is sponsored by Energias de Portu ...
is held through the streets of the old city of Porto.
Football
As in most Portuguese cities,
football is the most popular sport. There are two main teams in Porto:
FC Porto in the parish of
Campanhã, in the eastern part of the city and
Boavista in the area of Boavista in the parish of
Ramalde
Ramalde () is a Portuguese civil parish of the municipality of Porto. The population in 2011 was 38,012, , in the western part of the city, close to the city centre. FC Porto is one of the "
Big Three" teams in the main Portuguese football league, and was European champion in 1987 and 2004, won the UEFA Cup (2003) and Europa League (2011) and the Intercontinental Toyota Cup in 1987 and 2004. Boavista have won the championship once, in the
2000–01 season and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 2003, where they lost 2–1 to
Celtic.
Formerly,
Salgueiros from
Paranhos was a regular first division club during the 1980s and 1990s but, due to financial indebtedness, the club folded in the 2000s. The club was
refounded in 2008 and began playing at the regional level. They now play at the third level of Portugal's national football pyramid.
The biggest stadiums in the city are FC Porto's
Estádio do Dragão and Boavista's
Estádio do Bessa
The Estádio do Bessa (now ''Estádio do Bessa Sec. XXI'') is a football stadium located in the Boavista area of Porto, Portugal, used by Boavista F.C.
Like other stadiums used in Euro 2004, the Bessa is a new ground but built on top of the old ...
. The first team in Porto to own a stadium was
Académico, who played in the ''Estádio do Lima'', Académico was one of the eight teams to dispute the first division. Salgueiros, sold the grounds of
Estádio Engenheiro Vidal Pinheiro field to the
Porto Metro
The Porto Metro ( pt, Metro do Porto), part of the public transport (mass transit) system of Porto, Portugal, is a light rail network that runs underground in central Porto and above ground into the city's suburbs. ''Metro do Porto S.A.'' was f ...
and planned on building a new field in the ''Arca d'Água'' area of Porto. Located a few hundred metres away from the old grounds, it became impossible to build on this plot of land due to a large underground water pocket, and, consequently, they moved to the
Estádio do Mar
300 px, Estádio do Mar - Main stand
Estádio do Mar is a multi-use stadium in Matosinhos, Portugal. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Leixões
The Port of Leixões ( pt, Porto de Leixões, ) is one of Portugal ...
(owned by
Leixões S.C.) in the neighboring
Matosinhos municipality. For the
Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...
football competition, held in Portugal, the Estádio do Dragão was built (replacing the old
Estádio das Antas
The Estádio das Antas (officially Estádio do Futebol Clube do Porto) was the third (and longest occupied) stadium of the Portuguese football side FC Porto. It was in use from 1952 to 2004, replacing the earlier Campo da Constituição, 1.6km (1 ...
) and the Estádio do Bessa was renovated.
Basketball
The
FC Porto's basketball team plays its home games at the
Dragão Caixa. Its squad won the second most championships in the history of
Portugal's 1st Division. Traditionally, the club provides the
Portuguese national basketball team with numerous key players.
Twin towns – sister cities
Porto is
twinned with:
*
Liège, Belgium (1977)
*
Ndola
Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia and third in terms of size and population, with a population of 475,194 (''2010 census provisional''), after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development aft ...
, Zambia (1978)
*
Nagasaki, Japan (1978)
*
Recife
That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
, Brazil (1981)
*
Jena
Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...
, Germany (1984)
*
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, England, UK (1984)
*
Vigo, Spain (1986)
* Beira, Mozambique, Beira, Mozambique (1989)
* Bordeaux, France (1990)
* Duruelo de la Sierra, Spain (1989)
* São Vicente, Cape Verde, São Vicente, Cape Verde (1993)
* Lembá District, Lembá, São Tomé and Príncipe (1994)
* Shanghai, China (1995)
* Macau, China (1997)
* Luanda, Angola (1999)
* León, Spain, León, Spain (2001)
* Santos, São Paulo, Santos, Brazil (2015)
* Guatemala city, Guatemala (2015)
* Shenzhen, China (2016)
* Marsala, Italy (2016)
* Timișoara, Romania (2018)
Notable people
Explorers and public service
*Prince Henry the Navigator (1394–1460), responsible for the early development of European exploration and maritime trade with other continents.
*Afonso Gonçalves Baldaia (1415–1481), nautical explorer
*Pêro Vaz de Caminha (1450–1500), wrote the letter ''Carta de Pêro Vaz de Caminha, Carta do Achamento do Brasil'', announcing the discovery of Brazil
*Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480–1521), the globe circumnavigation navigator; lived and studied in Porto
*Estêvão Gomes (c. 1483–1538), cartographer and explorer
*Duarte Coelho (c. 1485–1554), nobleman, military leader, colonial administrator and founder of Olinda in Brazil
*Brás Cubas (1507–1589), explorer, colonial administrator and founder of Santos, São Paulo, Santos in Brazil
*Inácio de Azevedo (1526–1570), Jesuit missionary
*Sir John Croft, 1st Baronet (1778–1862), English diplomat and spy for Wellington against Napoleon
*António Pinto Soares (1780–1865), List of presidents of Costa Rica, Head of State of Costa Rica in 1842
*Sir William Warre (1784–1853), English officer of the British Army
*Charles Albert of Sardinia (1798–1849), Italian monarch; died here
*António da Silva Porto (1817–1890), trader and explorer in Angola
*Venceslau de Lima (1858–1919), geologist, paleontologist, viticulturist and politician, the Prime Minister of Portugal in 1909
*Mary of the Divine Heart (1863–1899), countess Droste zu Vischering and Mother Superior of the Good Shepherd Sisters Convent; died here
*António Ferreira Gomes (1906–1989), Roman Catholic Roman Catholic Diocese of Porto, Portugal, bishop of Porto
*Kaúlza de Arriaga (1915–2004), Portuguese Army, Army general, writer, professor and politician
*Maria de Lourdes Belchior Pontes (1923–1998) a writer, poet, University of Porto, professor and diplomat
*Francisco de Sá Carneiro (1934–1980) – politician, Prime Minister of Portugal in 1980
*Manuel Clemente (born 1948) a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church, the Metropolitan Patriarch of Lisbon since 2013 and Roman Catholic Diocese of Porto, Portugal, bishop of Porto in 2007–2013
*José Pacheco Pereira (born 1949), politician, professor and political analyst
*Alexandre Quintanilha (born 1945), scientist and Member of Parliament, lives in Porto
*Rui Moreira (politician), Rui Moreira (born 1956), businessman and politician, Mayor of Porto
*Augusto Santos Silva (born 1956), sociologist, academic, politician and Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Portugal), Minister of Foreign Affairs
*Rui Rio (born 1957), politician, Mayor of Porto 2002–2013
*Diogo Vasconcelos (1968–2011), politician and social innovator
Arts and sciences
*Pedro de Escobar (c. 1465 – after 1535), Renaissance composer of polyphony
*Daniel de Fonseca (1672 – c. 1740), Jewish court physician
*Tomás António Gonzaga (1744 – c. 1810), Brazilian poet
*Vieira Portuense (1765–1805), painter and pioneer of Neoclassicism
*Almeida Garrett (1799–1854), writer, theatre director and liberalist
*Júlio Dinis (1839–1871), doctor and poet, playwright and novelist
*Arthur Napoleão dos Santos (1843–1925), composer and pianist
*Annibal Napoleão (1845–1880), composer and pianist
*Alfredo Napoleão (1852–1917), composer and pianist
*Artur Loureiro (1853–1932), painter, lived and worked in Porto
*António Nobre (1867–1900), poet, published Só (poetry collection), Só in 1892, a collection of poems
*Abigail de Paiva Cruz (1883–1944), naturalist painter, sculptor and feminist activist
*Guilhermina Suggia (1885–1950), cellist, lived and worked in the UK for many years
*Armando de Basto (1889–1923), painter, illustrator, sculptor and decorator
*Aurora Teixeira de Castro (1891–1931), feminist, notary and playwright
*
Manoel de Oliveira (1908–2015), film director and screenwriter
*Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (1919–2004), poet and writer
*Ana Hatherly (1929–2015), poet, visual artist, essayist, film maker, painter and writer
*
Álvaro Siza Vieira
Álvaro Joaquim de Melo Siza Vieira (born 25 June 1933) is a Portuguese architect, and architectural educator. He is internationally known as Álvaro Siza () and in Portugal as Siza Vieira ().
Early life and education
Siza was born in Matosi ...
(born 1933), architect and architectural educator
*Maria Antónia Siza (1940–1973), artist
*Alexandre Quintanilha (born 1945), scientist, academic and politician
*
Sérgio Godinho (born 1945), singer-songwriter, composer, actor, poet and author
*Armando J. L. Pombeiro, Armando Pombeiro (born 1949), chemical engineer
*Miguel Sousa Tavares (born 1952), lawyer, journalist and writer
*
Eduardo Souto de Moura (born 1952), architect and academic
*Rui Reininho (born 1955), singer, lead vocalist of rock band
GNR
*Jorge Chaminé (born 1956), operatic baritone
*Richard Zimler (born 1956), novelist, lives and works in Porto
*Pedro Abrunhosa (born 1960), singer, songwriter, musician and composer
*J. K. Rowling (born 1965), writer who taught English as a foreign language in Porto and lived there in 1991–1993
*Armindo Freitas-Magalhães (born 1966), psychologist and scientist
*Mónica de Miranda (born 1976), visual artist, photographer, filmmaker, and researcher
*Abel Pereira (musician), Abel Pereira (born 1978), classical horn player
*Luciana Abreu (born 1985), singer, actress and television host
*Sara Sampaio (born 1991), supermodel
*Cláudia Pascoal (born 1994), musician
Business
*Charles Augustus Howell (1840–1890), art dealer and alleged Blackmailer
*Fernando Van Zeller Guedes (1903–1987), co-founded Sogrape, the inspiration behind Mateus (wine), Mateus rosé
*Belmiro de Azevedo (1938–2017), entrepreneur, industrialist, founder of
Sonae
Sonae is a multinational business group based in Maia, Porto District, Portugal. It is present in 90 countries, operating in several sectors, including retail, financial services, shopping centres management, software and information systems, ...
*Paulo de Azevedo (born 1965), businessman, son and successor of Belmiro de Azevedo
*José Neves (born 1974), billionaire entrepreneur and the founder of Farfetch
Sport
*Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa (born 1937), president of
FC Porto
*Humberto Coelho (born 1950), footballer
*Fernando Gomes (Portuguese footballer), Fernando Gomes (born 1956), footballer
*Rosa Mota (born 1958), marathon runner, Olympic winner
*Nuno Marques (born 1970), tennis player
*Jorge Costa (born 1971), football player and manager
*João Pinto (born 1971), footballer
*Miguel Ramos (born 1971), racing driver
*Ricardo Sá Pinto (born 1972), football player and manager
*Tiago Monteiro (born 1976), racing driver
*Petit (Portuguese footballer), Petit (born 1976), football player and manager
*André Villas-Boas (born 1977), football manager
*Bruno Alves (born 1981), footballer
*Raul Meireles (born 1983), footballer
*Diogo Leite (footballer, born 1989), Diogo Leite (born 1989), footballer
*João Mário (footballer, born January 1993), João Mário (born 1993), footballer
*Diogo Jota (born 1996), footballer
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
* Francis, A.D. ''John Methuen and the Anglo-Portuguese Treaties of 1703''. The Historical Journal Vol. 3, No. 2
* Glover, Michael, ''The Peninsular War 1807–1814'' Penguin, 1974.
*
* Loyrette, Henri. ''Gustave Eiffel''. New York: Rizzoli, 1985
*
* Redacção Quidnovi, com coordenação de José Hermano Saraiva, ''História de Portugal, Dicionário de Personalidades'', Volume VIII, Ed. QN-Edição e Conteúdos, S.A., 2004
* Smith, Digby, ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book'' Greenhill, 1998.
External links
Coordination and Development Committee of the North RegionMetropolitan Area of PortoTourism of Porto and Norte Region, Portugal
{{Authority control
Porto,
Cities in Portugal
Populated coastal places in Portugal
Municipalities of Porto District
Municipalities of Norte Region, Portugal,
Cities of Norte Region, Portugal,
World Heritage Sites in Portugal
Port cities and towns in Portugal
Populated places in Porto District
Populated places established in the 3rd century BC