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, defi ...
'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
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershi ...
.
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 of ...
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 Mediterr ...
. Its combined
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
-
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 writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...
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)" ar ...
: '' 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 fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi- ...
, 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 of ...
, were responsible for the packaging, transport, and export of
fortified wine
Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commanda ...
.
In 2014 and 2017, Porto was elected ''The Best European Destination'' by the Best European Destinations Agency.
Porto is on
the Portuguese Way
The Portuguese Way ( pt, Caminho Português, es, Camino Portugués) is the name of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage routes starting in Portugal. It begins at Porto or Lisbon. From Porto, along the Douro River, pilgrims travel north crossing t ...
path of the
Camino de Santiago
The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...
.
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 Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed through the compar ...
and
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
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, defi ...
, the city developed as an important commercial port, primarily in the trade between ''Olissipona'' (the modern
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
) 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
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...
times, and a centre for the expansion of Christianity during that period.
![Porto-Cathedral-2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Porto-Cathedral-2021.jpg)
Porto fell under the control of the Moors during the
invasion
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
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 communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...
,
Léon
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
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 of ...
. 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
John I ( pt, João uˈɐ̃w̃ 11 April 1357 – 14 August 1433), also called John of Aviz, was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in a succession war with Casti ...
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
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...
; this symbolized a long-standing
military alliance
A military alliance is a formal Alliance, 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. ...
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.
![Porto562](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Porto%2C_Pra%C3%A7a_de_Almeida_Garrett_%2810%29.jpg)
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
''Dom'' Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator ( pt, Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15t ...
(son of
John I of Portugal
John I ( pt, João uˈɐ̃w̃ 11 April 1357 – 14 August 1433), also called John of Aviz, was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in a succession war with Casti ...
) 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 to ...
.
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 Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafarin ...
. 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
Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pigs and sheep.
Types of tripe
Beef tripe
Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's st ...
, 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
The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Douro () is an administrative division in Portugal. It replaced the ''Comunidade Urbana do Douro'', created in 2004. It takes its name from the Douro River. The seat of the intermunicipal community is Vila Real. D ...
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 fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi- ...
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 s ...
, 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
Nicolau Nasoni (or originally Niccoló Nasoni, 2 June 1691 – 30 August 1773) was an Italian artist and architect mostly active in Portugal.
He became one of the most influential figures in Portuguese Baroque architecture with his original and v ...
designed a
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
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 For ...
was
rooted out of Porto by
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...
, when his
Anglo-Portuguese Army
The Anglo-Portuguese Army was the combined United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British and Portugal, Portuguese army that participated in the Peninsular War, under the command of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesl ...
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
A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maxi ...
), 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 Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...
engineering and was designed by
Gustave Eiffel
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...
, 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
A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...
(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
The 5 October 1910 revolution was the overthrow of the centuries-old Portuguese monarchy and its replacement by the First Portuguese Republic. It was the result of a ''coup d'état'' organized by the Portuguese Republican Party.
By 1910, the K ...
.
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
The Monarchy of the North ( pt, Monarquia do Norte), officially the Kingdom of Portugal (), was a short-lived counter-revolution against the First Portuguese Republic and a monarchist government that occurred in Northern Portugal in early 1919. ...
. 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
The Porto Cathedral ( pt, Sé do Porto) is a Roman Catholic church located in the historical centre of the city of Porto, Portugal. It is one of the city's oldest monuments and one of the most important local Romanesque architecture, Romanesque m ...
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
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
Igreja de São Francisco (Church of
Saint Francis), the remnants of the
city walls and a few 15th-century houses. The
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
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, coordina ...
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
Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
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 Stock Exchange Palace () is a historical building in Porto, Portugal. The palace was built in the 19th century by the city's Commercial Association () in Neoclassical style. It is located in the Infante D. Henrique Square in the historical cent ...
''), 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
São Bento Railway Station ( pt, estação ferroviária de São Bento) is a 20th-century railway terminal in the civil parish of Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória, in the municipality of Porto, district of Porto. ...
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
The Stock Exchange Palace () is a historical building in Porto, Portugal. The palace was built in the 19th century by the city's Commercial Association () in Neoclassical style. It is located in the Infante D. Henrique Square in the historical cent ...
, 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 b ...
.
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.
![Porto - Torres dos clérigos](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Porto_-_Torres_dos_cl%C3%A9rigos.JPG)
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 7 civil parishes (''
freguesias
''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Port ...
''):
*
Aldoar, Foz do Douro e Nevogilde
Aldoar, Foz do Douro e Nevogilde is a civil parish in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the former parishes Aldoar, Foz do Douro
Foz do Douro (; meaning "Mouth of the Douro") is a former civil parish in th ...
*
Bonfim
*
Campanhã
Campanhã () is a Portuguese ''freguesia'' ("civil parish"), located in the city of Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Por ...
*
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
Lordelo do Ouro e Massarelos is a civil parish in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the former parishes Lordelo do Ouro and Massarelos
Massarelos () is a former civil parish in the municipality of Porto, P ...
*
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
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(''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
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity depe ...
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 liberal political party in Portugal currently led by João Cotrim de Figueiredo. In 2019, its debut year at the Portuguese legislative elections, the party won one seat in the Portug ...
'' (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: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
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
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
, 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
![Cave do Vinho do Porto 03](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Cave_do_Vinho_do_Porto_03.jpg)
Porto plus the
conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...
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 ...
, 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
Cerealis is a Portuguese food producer and the biggest milling company in Portugal, headquartered in Maia, and founded in 1919 as a cereal processing company. Cerealis Group has two divisions, food producer Cerealis Produtos Alimentares and mi ...
,
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 Frulact – Ingredientes para a Indústria de Laticínios, Lda. is a food industry company, part of France-based Ardian since 2020, which is specialized in fruit processing and is headquartered in Maia, Portugal. Its aim is the manufacture of food ...
,
Lactogal
Lactogal is a Portuguese food products company focused on dairy products, milk, fruit juice and mineral water. It is headquartered in Porto and is placed among the twenty largest agro-food European companies. It has major factories in Oliveira ...
,
Millennium bcp
Portuguese Commercial Bank ( pt, Banco Comercial Português, BCP) is a Portuguese bank that was founded in 1985 and is the largest private bank in the country. BCP is a member of the Euronext 100 stock index and its current chief executive officer ...
,
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, me ...
,
Sonae Indústria
Sonae Indústria is a manufacturer of engineered wood products, founded and headquartered in Maia, Portugal. Present in five countries within three continents, Sonae Indústria has a wide range of products, from simple board to complete construc ...
, and
Super Bock Group, are headquartered in the
Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto
The Porto Metropolitan Area ( pt, Área Metropolitana do Porto; abbreviated as AMP) is a Metropolitan areas in Portugal, metropolitan area in northern Portugal centered on the Porto, City of Porto, Portugal's second largest city.Fernanda Paula Oli ...
, most notably, in the core municipalities of
Maia
Maia (; Ancient Greek: Μαῖα; also spelled Maie, ; la, Maia), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes, one of the major Greek gods, by Zeus, the king of Olympus.
Family
Maia is the daugh ...
,
Matosinhos
Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal () is a city and a municipality in the northern Porto district of Portugal, bordered in the south by the city of Porto (8 km from the city centre). The population in 2011 was 175,478, and covered an area of approx ...
, 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 of ...
.
The city's former
stock exchange
A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...
(
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
Euronext Lisbon is a stock exchange in Lisbon, Portugal. It is part of Euronext pan-European exchange.
Euronext Lisbon trades equities, public and private bonds, participation bonds, warrants, corporate warrants, investment trust units, and e ...
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, de ...
, together with Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris stock and
futures 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 ...
s. 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
Banco may refer to:
Places
* Banc (Barcelona Metro), also called Banco, a closed metro stop on the Barcelona metro
* Banco, Virginia, an unincorporated community
* Banco, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
* Banco National Park, a nation ...
(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 of ...
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 a ...
. 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
nut
Nut often refers to:
* Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds
* Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt
Nut or Nuts may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Co ...
s and the Douro
olive oil
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...
s 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. 3 ...
. 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 fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi- ...
(''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 wine
Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commanda ...
s, 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 of ...
, where is located the amphitheatre-shaped slope with the Port wine cellars.
![Vila Nova de Gaia from Porto (6847153331)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Vila_Nova_de_Gaia_from_Porto_%286847153331%29.jpg)
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
The University of Minho (''Universidade do Minho'') is a public university in Portugal, divided into the following campuses:
* Largo do Paço (rectorate), in Braga
* Campus of Gualtar, in Braga
* Convento dos Congregados, in Braga
* Campus of Az ...
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 to ...
, 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 Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...
. 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
Expresso may refer to:
* Espresso, a coffee beverage
* eXpresso, a hosted workspace for Microsoft Office communities
* Expresso (Donkey Kong), a character in the ''Donkey Kong Country'' series
* ''Expresso'' (newspaper), based in Lisbon, Portug ...
'' 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 to ...
and below
Guimarães
Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga.
Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCWorld Heritage Sitesince 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and a ...
and
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
.
The Porto metropolitan area had a
GDP amounting to $43.0 billion, and $21,674 per capita.
Tourism
![Ribera area along the river Duoro, Porto, Portugal, 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Ribera_area_along_the_river_Duoro%2C_Porto%2C_Portugal%2C_2019.jpg)
Over the last few years, Porto has experienced significant tourism increases, which may be partly linked to the
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...
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
![VCI](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/VCI.svg)
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
Viana do Castelo () is a municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 88,725, in an area of 319.02 km². The urbanized area of the municipality, comprising the city, ...
) by highway A28, to Estarreja (
Aveiro) by the A29, to
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
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
São João da Madeira (), is a city and a municipality in northwestern region of the Portuguese Norte region. It's part of the larger Porto Metropolitan Area, located 30 km from central Porto. The population in 2011 was 21,713. With an area ...
and
Oliveira de Azeméis
Oliveira de Azeméis () is a city and a municipality located in Porto Metropolitan Area in Portugal. Administratively, the municipality belongs to the District of Aveiro. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 68,611, in an area of 161.1 ...
.
![Luís I Bridge, Porto, Portugal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Lu%C3%ADs_I_Bridge%2C_Porto%2C_Portugal.jpg)
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
The Arrábida Bridge is an arch bridge of reinforced concrete which carries six lanes of traffic over the Douro River, between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, in the Norte region of Portugal.
History
In March 1952, a preliminary project for a ro ...
'', 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
A passenger terminal is a structure in a port which services passengers boarding and leaving water vessels such as ferries, cruise ships and ocean liners. Depending on the types of vessels serviced by the terminal, it may be named (for example) ...
was opened at the port of Leixões, which is north of the city in
Matosinhos
Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal () is a city and a municipality in the northern Porto district of Portugal, bordered in the south by the city of Porto (8 km from the city centre). The population in 2011 was 175,478, and covered an area of approx ...
.
Airports
![Aeroporto Porto 17](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Aeroporto_Porto_17.jpg)
Porto is served by
Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport
Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport or simply Porto Airport (formerly ''Pedras Rubras Airport'') is an international airport near Porto (Oporto), Portugal. It is located northwest of the Clérigos Tower in the centre of Porto, in the municipalitie ...
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
The Campanhã Railway Station ( pt, Estação Ferroviária de Campanhã) is a 19th-century railway station in the civil parish of Campanhã, in the municipality of Porto, district of Porto. Opened in 1877, it is connected to the Metro do Porto ...
, 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 Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...
and
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
).
From Campanhã station, both
light rail and Regional rail, suburban rail services connect to the city center. The main central station is São Bento railway station, 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
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
via high-speed trains, ''Alfa Pendular'', 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, running twice every day, a 2h 20 min trip.
Light rail
![Puente Don Luis I, Oporto, Portugal, 2012-05-09, DD 14](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Puente_Don_Luis_I%2C_Oporto%2C_Portugal%2C_2012-05-09%2C_DD_14.JPG)
Currently, the major network is the Porto Metro, 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), 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), Trindade station. Currently, the whole network spans using 68 stations, thus being the biggest urban rail transit system in the country.
Buses
![Autocarro STCP (Porto)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Autocarro_STCP_%28Porto%29.JPG)
The city has an extensive bus network run by the Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos do Porto, STCP (Sociedade dos Transportes Colectivos do Porto, or Porto Public transport Society) which also operates lines in the neighbouring cities of Vila Nova de Gaia, Gaia, Maia, Matosinhos, Gondomar, Portugal, Gondomar and Valongo. Other smaller companies connect such towns as Paços de Ferreira and Santo Tirso Municipality, Santo Tirso to the town center. In the past, the city also had trolleybuses. A bus journey is 2.00 €, which must be paid in cash.
Trams
![Electrico e Câmara do Porto (Av](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Electrico_e_C%C3%A2mara_do_Porto_%28Av._dos_Aliados%29.JPG)
A Trams in Porto, 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, defi ...
. The lines in operation all use vintage tramcars, so the service has become a Heritage streetcar, heritage tramway. STCP also operates these routes as well as a Porto Tram Museum, tram museum. The first line of the area's modern-tram, or light rail system, named ''Porto Metro, Metro do Porto'', opened for revenue service in January 2003 (after a brief period of Free public transport, 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
![Fundación Serralves o palacete de Miami](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Fundaci%C3%B3n_Serralves_o_palacete_de_Miami.jpg)
In 2001, Porto shared the designation European Capital of Culture, European Culture Capital with Rotterdam. In the scope of these events, the construction of the major concert hall space Casa da Música, 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 film ''The Suicide Squad (film), The Suicide Squad'' (2021) written and directed by James Gunn based on a Suicide Squad story, shows the city twice in the movie, in which shows us Daniela Melchior a Portuguese actress, who portrays Ratcatcher 2 in which the character is the heart of the film, a Portugal, Portuguese version of Ratcatcher (comics), Ratcatcher.
Many renowned Music of Portugal, Portuguese music artists and cult bands such as GNR (band), GNR, Rui Veloso, Sérgio Godinho, Clã, Pluto (Portuguese band), Pluto, :pt:Os Azeitonas, Azeitonas and Ornatos Violeta are from the city or its metropolitan area.
Porto has several museums, concert halls, theaters, cinemas, Art museum, art galleries, 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 Art movement, artistic movements from the 16th to the 20th century, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Serralves Foundation (''Museu de Arte Contemporânea'').
The city has concert halls such as the Coliseu do Porto by the Portuguese architect Cassiano Branco, an example of the Portuguese decorative arts. Other notable venues include the historical São João National Theatre, the ''Rivoli'' theatre, the ''Cinema Batalha (Porto), Batalha cinema'' and ''Casa da Música'', 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
![Casamusicaexterior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Casamusicaexterior.jpg)
Porto's most popular event is St. John (Festa de São João, 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 hall, study period preceding the school year's last exams, academia 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 alcoholic beverages, 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 - Matosinhos - Praça da Cidade de Salvador](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Porto_-_Matosinhos_-_Pra%C3%A7a_da_Cidade_de_Salvador.jpg)
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 art, public sculpture to be built in the Waterfront Plaza of
Matosinhos
Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal () is a city and a municipality in the northern Porto district of Portugal, bordered in the south by the city of Porto (8 km from the city centre). The population in 2011 was 175,478, and covered an area of approx ...
. The resulting sculpture is entitled ''She Changes'' by American artist, Janet Echelman, and spans the height of 50 × 150 × 150 metres.
Architecture
![Azuelo tile mural at Porto Cathedral](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Azuelo_tile_mural_at_Porto_Cathedral.jpg)
Due to its long history, the city of Porto carries immense architectural patrimony. From the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque Porto Cathedral, Cathedral 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 Porto School of Architecture, school): Álvaro Siza Vieira 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
![Francesinha @ Ar do Rio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Francesinha_%40_Ar_do_Rio.jpg)
Porto is home to a number of dishes from traditional Portuguese cuisine. A typical dish from this city is ''Tripas à Moda do Porto'' (Tripe Porto style). ''Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá'' (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 North Region, Portugal, 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 (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 fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi- ...
, an internationally renowned wine, is widely accepted as the city's dessert wine, 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 of ...
River, which runs through the city.
Education
The city has a large number of public and private education in Portugal, 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 Lycée Français International de Porto, French School, the Deutsche Schule zu Porto, and the Oporto International School, which were created in the 20th century.
Higher education
![Up reitoria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Up_reitoria.jpg)
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, with approximately 28,000 students and considered one of the 100 best Universities in Europe. There is also a state-managed polytechnic (Portugal), polytechnic institute, the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Instituto Politécnico do Porto (a group of technical colleges), and private institutions like the Lusíada University of Porto, Fernando Pessoa University, Universidade Fernando Pessoa (UFP), the Porto's Higher Education School of Arts (''ESAP- Escola Superior Artística do Porto'') and a Vatican City, Vatican state university, the Catholic University of Portugal, 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 Norte Region, Portugal, 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 Programme, ERASMUS students, most universities have facilities to assist foreigners in learning the language. There are also several private language learning institutions in the city.
Sport
![Palaciodecristalporto](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Palaciodecristalporto.jpg)
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 (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 club, the Oporto Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club. Annually, for more than 100 years, a match (the Kendall Cup) has been played between the Porto Club and the Casuals Club of
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, 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 Circuito da Boavista, Boavista street circuit, which are reenacted annually, in addition to a World Touring Car Championship race.
Every year in October the Porto Marathon is held through the streets of the old city of Porto.
Football
![Estadio do bessa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Estadio_do_bessa.jpg)
As in most Portuguese cities, Association football, football is the most popular sport. There are two main teams in Porto: FC Porto in the parish of
Campanhã
Campanhã () is a Portuguese ''freguesia'' ("civil parish"), located in the city of Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Por ...
, in the eastern part of the city and Boavista F.C., 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 (Portugal), 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 Primeira Liga, 2000–01 season and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 2003, where they lost 2–1 to Celtic F.C., Celtic.
Formerly, S.C. Salgueiros, Salgueiros from Paranhos, Porto, 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 S.C. Salgueiros 08, 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 first team in Porto to own a stadium was Académico F.C., 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 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 (owned by Leixões S.C.) in the neighboring
Matosinhos
Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal () is a city and a municipality in the northern Porto district of Portugal, bordered in the south by the city of Porto (8 km from the city centre). The population in 2011 was 175,478, and covered an area of approx ...
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) and the Estádio do Bessa was renovated.
Basketball
The FC Porto (basketball), FC Porto's basketball team plays its home games at the Dragão Caixa. Its squad won the second most championships in the history of Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol, Portugal's 1st Division. Traditionally, the club provides the Portuguese national basketball team with numerous key players.
Twin towns – sister cities
Porto is Sister city, twinned with:
* Liège, Belgium (1977)
* Ndola, Zambia (1978)
* Nagasaki, Japan (1978)
* Recife, Brazil (1981)
* Jena, Germany (1984)
* Bristol, 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
![Jardim Botanico do Porto-Sophia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Jardim_Botanico_do_Porto-Sophia.JPG)
*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 (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 (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, me ...
*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
![Rosa Mota na Exponor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Rosa_Mota_na_Exponor.JPG)
*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